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The Facilitated
Communication Institute
http://thefci.syr.edu/
The Facilitated Communication Institute
conducts research, training, and public education designed to expand
opportunities for people with disabilities to be heard and to participate
fully in society. Faculty, staff and students at Syracuse University
founded the Institute in 1992; its purpose is to focus attention on
individuals with developmental disabilities who have traditionally been
silenced as a result of their own communication disabilities and by social
policy and human service practices that ignore their communication
potential.
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What is Facilitated
Communication?
Facilitated communication training, FCT, (hereafter called facilitated
communication or FC), is one form of augmentative and alternative communication
(AAC) that has been an effective means of expression for some individuals with
labels of autism and other developmental disabilities. It entails learning to
communicate by typing on a keyboard or pointing at letters, images, or other
symbols to represent messages. Facilitated communication involves a combination
of physical and emotional support to an individual who has difficulties with
speech and with intentional pointing (i.e., unassisted typing).
The person who provides support is called a facilitator. A facilitator can be a
teacher or other professional, a family member or a friend. This support is
highly individualized, based on specific needs. Thus it does not look the same
from person to person.
* Luke receives support at the hand with strong backward pressure after each key
stroke.
* Megan types with a light touch on the shoulder.
* Rebecca types with one hand;
* Shaffer works on developing a rhythm with two-handed typing.
* Trey types slowly for a long period of time.
* Laura types but tires quickly.
This diversity of supports and styles of typing complicates any understanding of
facilitated communication as a prescribed method. Instead it is a dynamic and
long-term process of identifying, implementing, and evaluating communication
supports according to AAC guidelines.
The goal of facilitated communication is for individuals to achieve independent
expression, often with a combination of typing and speech.
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