Research and Outcomes
Research Summary
Age Range:
Skills:
Settings:
Evidence Rating: No Evidence
The information found in the Research Summary table is updated following a literature review of new research and these ages, skills, and settings reflects information from this review.
Outcomes Matrix
No evidence has been found to support the efficacy of this intervention with student's with Autism.
More about Intervention OutcomesDuring facilitated communication (FC) the facilitator attempts to assist the communicator by pointing to pictures, objects, printed letters, and words or by using a keyboard. Overall, quantitative research does not support the use of facilitated communication (Mostert, 2001). Further, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Association on Mental Retardation have issued statements about this technique indicating that it is not an evidence-based practice and that programming or placement decisions should not be made on the basis of information gained from facilitated communication.
Disagreements about the usefulness of facilitated communication relate directly to how success is defined. The question of authorship also enters into this debate. Few would disagree that independent pointing or typing validates authorship. However, progress toward independence is viewed by some as an indicator of success. Authorship remains an issue both among individuals who do and those who do not pass formal validation tests. Validation of authorship in one situation does not automatically verify communicator authorship of every message that follows. Similarly, a failure to validate in one situation does not preclude the ability to author messages in other situations.
Experimental and qualitative research offers different perspectives on facilitated communication, especially with regard to validation. Not surprisingly, results of quantitative and qualitative investigations have consistently contradicted one another and, in the process, have confused the public and professionals looking for clear direction (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, 1994). However, overall research does not support the use of facilitated communication.
*Practitioners should not interpret inclusion of this practice in the TARGET as an endorsement of its evidence base or of its use.