Facilitated communication (FC) as an augmentative or alternative communication system was evaluated with 14 students having autism. At the end of 10 weeks of instruction, no participants were able to produce functional, typed communication, thereby failing to support the cause-effect relationship proposed by FC proponents. (DB)

This study of an adolescent with multiple disabilities, including moderate mental retardation, who was reported to engage in validated facilitated communication (FC) found he did not engage in validated FC; performance was equivalent whether food or nonfood reinforcers were used; and the Picture Exchange Communication System was a valid and…

Potential individual variations in the effectiveness of facilitated communication (FC) were examined with 20 students with autism and related disorders. Use of multiple methods (including auditory or visual input, simple point responses, and typing) provided no clear support for validity of FC over students' independent communication. Increased…