Research summaries for autism therapy: facilitated communication

definition of facilitated communication: Communication technique that involves a facilitator who places his hand over the patient's hand, arm or wrist. For example, the facilitator and patient place their hands on a board or keyboard with letters, words, or pictures and communicate the patient’s thoughts, some of which can be quite complex.
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Islands of Loneliness: Exploring Social Interaction through the Autobiographies of Individuals with Autism, Summarized Nov 6, 2009

People with autism expressed loneliness and a desire for better social interactions when they wrote about themselves.

The authors of this article read seven books written by people with autism about themselves (autobiographies). The book authors had a range of social communication skills; three of them used facilitated communication. The people with autism said that they were aware of their own social difficulties. They wrote moving passages about feeling lonely.... Read more...

Scientifically Unsupported Therapies in the Treatment of Young Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Summarized Dec 11, 2008

Many parents use scientifically unproven therapies to help their children with autism.

This article reviews a few therapies that are used to treat autism (vitamins, sensory integration therapy, facilitated communication, auditory integration therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, and others). The author states that while some treatments can improve autism in many children, the above therapies have not been proven to work in research studies. Vitamin therapy includes vitamins A, C, B6-magnesium complex, folic acid, and B12. Sensory integration therapy is designed to help children learn to process the input from their senses. Facilitated communication involves having a person guide the child with autism as he or she talks through a computer. Read more...

Behavior Analyst Use of and Beliefs in Treatments for People with Autism, Summarized Nov 7, 2008

Some applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapists may also use autism therapies that are not evidence-based.

This study was designed to see what treatments for autism are endorsed and used by ABA therapists. While most ABA therapists did provide ABA therapy, not all ABA therapists use only evidence-based autism therapies. ABA therapists reported using facilitated communication, sensory integration, auditory integration, and other interventions that are not evidence-based. The choice of therapies was not influenced by the number of years that the ABA therapist had been working with children with autism. The authors suggest that the current approach to teaching Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) about evidenced-based therapies may not be not good enough. Read more...

State of the Evidence Regarding Complimentary and Alternative Medical Treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Summarized Jan 8, 2008

Special education teachers can help parents sort through and select among the many different autism therapies.

This review article describes the research behind complimentary and alternative medical (CAM) treatments for autism. Many doctors do not like the CAM treatments for autism. This is because there is not a lot of research to show that they work. The therapies that have been shown to work are speech therapy, social skills therapy and behavioral therapy (ABA). The author states that facilitated communication and auditory integration training have been shown to not work. Read more...

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