Facilitated Communications
Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2011 1:54 am
Years ago I watched an incredible documentary on 'Facilitated Communication,' done by FrontLine. The idea with FC was that an otherwise non-communicating autistic person can be given the ability to communicate if a 'facilitator' steadies his or her hand and arm enough to use a letter-board to spell out words.
Syracuse University Professor Douglas Biklen was the foremost proponent of FC in the US, which he introduced after having done some work on the subject in Australia. After the technique became more well-known, and lots of incredibly amazing things were happening, a dark side became apparent: some of these autistic kids, by way of their new-found ability to communicate, were able to tell of horrific sexual abuses they had endured at the hands of their fathers/teachers/etc. Fathers were separated from their families, and lawsuits and criminal investigations ensued.
Only after a skeptic (viewed perhaps as a malevolent naysayer out to destroy the good that FC had created) began to ask questions that it began to unravel.
The thing I remember most was the interviews with the professional people who had fallen hook, line and sinker for FC. Looking back on it, they couldn't believe how they had truly believed in it. All the signs had been there for them to see it wasn't real, but the wonderful nature of the promises FC made kept them from noticing or comprehending. Only after being essentially forced to confront the facts were people finally able to see the truth of Facilitated Communications: It didn't work and never had.
I think it is important to note that (I believe) this was not a fraud or a hoax, at least not in the typical sense of the word. Biklen and all the people who were behind the FC movement do not seem to me to be people who were attempting to be deceptive. But, one thing led to another, and the whole thing took on a life of its own. At one point, it was almost like a religion.
Virtually every person involved with Facilitated Communication had a deep-seated belief in its authenticity and usefulness, and knew that it was wonderful blessing for communicating with autistic people. But it wasn't.
My point in posting is this: Something can be considered wonderful and blessed, and not a hoax, and still be absolutely false.
Bottom line for me: Whether Joseph Smith was a fraudster or whether he really believed in what he was doing cannot fully answer the question of whether the LDS church is true. If the argument you make to yourself is that since the Church couldn't possibly be one large 15-million-person conspiracy, then it must be true... you might be looking at it the wrong way.
(The FrontLine episode on Facilitated Communications can be viewed here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 200920717#)
Syracuse University Professor Douglas Biklen was the foremost proponent of FC in the US, which he introduced after having done some work on the subject in Australia. After the technique became more well-known, and lots of incredibly amazing things were happening, a dark side became apparent: some of these autistic kids, by way of their new-found ability to communicate, were able to tell of horrific sexual abuses they had endured at the hands of their fathers/teachers/etc. Fathers were separated from their families, and lawsuits and criminal investigations ensued.
Only after a skeptic (viewed perhaps as a malevolent naysayer out to destroy the good that FC had created) began to ask questions that it began to unravel.
The thing I remember most was the interviews with the professional people who had fallen hook, line and sinker for FC. Looking back on it, they couldn't believe how they had truly believed in it. All the signs had been there for them to see it wasn't real, but the wonderful nature of the promises FC made kept them from noticing or comprehending. Only after being essentially forced to confront the facts were people finally able to see the truth of Facilitated Communications: It didn't work and never had.
I think it is important to note that (I believe) this was not a fraud or a hoax, at least not in the typical sense of the word. Biklen and all the people who were behind the FC movement do not seem to me to be people who were attempting to be deceptive. But, one thing led to another, and the whole thing took on a life of its own. At one point, it was almost like a religion.
Virtually every person involved with Facilitated Communication had a deep-seated belief in its authenticity and usefulness, and knew that it was wonderful blessing for communicating with autistic people. But it wasn't.
My point in posting is this: Something can be considered wonderful and blessed, and not a hoax, and still be absolutely false.
Bottom line for me: Whether Joseph Smith was a fraudster or whether he really believed in what he was doing cannot fully answer the question of whether the LDS church is true. If the argument you make to yourself is that since the Church couldn't possibly be one large 15-million-person conspiracy, then it must be true... you might be looking at it the wrong way.
(The FrontLine episode on Facilitated Communications can be viewed here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid ... 200920717#)