FC discussion

2 Responses to “FC discussion”

• Liz Ditz

  11 April 2010 at 12:09 pm

  To my surprise, some people (including professionals in the special education field) mix up or confound facilitiated communication (FC) with augmentive and assistive communication (AAC). In other words, these people believe that all forms of AAC have the attributes of FC, in which a facilitator guides the hand or responses of the subject.

  Tahirih Bushey, a speech-language pathologist who specializes in autism, has a new post on early adoption of AAC for non- (or pre-) verbal children with autism:

  http://autismgames.blogspot.com/2010/04/when-to-start-child-on-augmentative.html

  I wait less time than I used to in getting children who are nonverbal onto an augmentative communication device (a device that talks for the child). I wait less time because I am learning that these devices are useful for getting speech and language started even for children who end up becoming verbal and that if a child remains nonverbal, which unfortunately is sometimes the case, the gradual introduction of these machines into the child’s life cannot start too soon. All the while that a child is nonverbal, that child has lots of things to say.

  Go read the whole post. She has some moving vignettes.
• Amy B.

  4 June 2010 at 11:52 pm

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