Larry Bissonette

One Parent’s Response to Lisa Brady’s Attack on Facilitated Communication

As we mentioned in our article “The New FC Debate, Round 3: Another “Expert” Enters the Fight,” Lisa Brady, M.Ed., a so-called “autism expert,” has entered the fray in an effort to throw the worst light possible on the use of FC to help nonverbal autistics communicate. In January, Brady distributed an email with the…

The New FC Debate, Round 3: Another “Expert” Enters the Fight

A few weeks ago, we first reported about the latest round of attacks on the efficacy of facilitated communication (FC) in the post “Join the Fight Against Attack on Nonverbal Autistics’ Right to Communicate.” after author David Auerbach published his controversial article “Facilitated Communication Is a Cult That Won’t Die,” on Slate.com. In our post,…

ICI Autism Summer Institute: Training and Information for FC Typers, Parents, Trainers and Educators

The Syracuse University School of Education’s Institute on Communication and Inclusion (ICI) is a leader in the field of research and training on facilitated communication (FC). Its initiatives stress the important relationship of communication to inclusion. Each year, the ICI sponsors the Autism Summer Institute, an educational and engaging journey, with workshops, presentations, panels for…

Mark Utter: “I am in here.” – A Facilitated Communication Documentary

For more information about the movie, or to purchase the “I am in here.” DVD, click here. Mark Utter’s Story 49 year old Mark Utter would probably be diagnosed today as autistic, although no one is quite sure what his original diagnosis as a child was. Many children born in the 1960s with similar neurological…

Wretches & Jabberers – A Documentary Film About Tracy Thresher and Larry Bissonnette

Wretches & Jabberers, a documentary film directed by Gerardine Wurzburg, is about two men with autism who embarked on a global journey to help others with autism break through their isolation. With limited speech, Tracy Thresher, 42, and Larry Bissonnette, 52, both faced lives of mute isolation in mental institutions or adult disability centers. When…

Larry Bissonnette is an advocate and artist who lives in Milton, Vermont. He is both the subject and writer of an award winning film about his life, "My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette" (2005). Most recently, he was featured in the feature length documentary, "Wretches and Jabberer" (2010). In 1991, Larry…