jcruz
National Autism Center Releases Position Statement on Spelling to Communicate, Rapid Prompting Method, and Facilitated Communication
Randolph, Mass. — Evidence-based communication intervention is a fundamental right for autistic individuals (NJC, 2024). In recent years, several long-discredited facilitated communication approaches have reemerged under new names, offering families the promise that a non-speaking individual may quickly gain the ability to communicate complex thoughts and ideas through access to a letterboard or other communication system supported by a facilitator. Methods such as Spelling to Communicate (S2C) and the Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) are promoted as means of unlocking hidden intelligence and enabling communication for the first time. However, these approaches lack scientific validation (Tostanoski et al., 2014) and may interfere with the development of authentic, independent communication (Travers, 2017). [...]
