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Evaluating the Validity of Facilitated Communication

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Alan Hudson
Alan Hudson*
Affiliation:
Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology
*
Department of Psychology and Intellectual Disability Studies, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Plenty Road, Bundoora3083 Victoria
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Abstract

The technique known as facilitated communication training involves a disabled person being physically assisted to point to letters or words in order to communicate a message. Use of the technique is controversial in that it is difficult to determine if the person providing the physical assistance is also influencing the message. The literature reports little empirical evaluation of the validity of communication using the technique. The current paper outlines a methodology which can be used to investigate whether the messages relayed using the facilitated communication technique actually are generated by the disabled person. The methodology invoves both quantitative and qualitative procedures.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 9 , Issue 2 , November 1992 , pp. 24 - 29
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 1992

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References

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