Evidence of FC
Supporting Communication through Arts, Advocacy, Education, and now, New Technology
The autistic community has been using technology to vastly improve the ability of people with an Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to communicate with the outside world for a number of years. iPhones, iPads, and other AAC tech has made it far easier for nonverbal typers to express themselves. And now, technology is ready to take…
Read MoreThe Lost Gift, A Poem By John Smyth
The Lost Gift By John Smyth Wanting personal communication was lost in isolation and will wait with suffering. Each sadly wailing parent only appreciates in silos of grief longing for the child in another silo longing for them, separated waste assumes as human thinking shapes all silos. Your child waits in the same wanting waiting…
Read MoreFacilitated Communication Typers Receive HS Academic Letter
John Smyth, the son of SBT’s Program Director Jim, recently received an Academic Letter from his high school in Brownsburg, IN. Letters were given to all students who earned a 3.8 average or higher for the first three grading periods of the school year. John, a non-verbal autistic, began typing in December of 2010, at…
Read MoreICI Autism Summer Institute: Communication and Inclusion – Principles for Going Forward
Our previous post in the 2012 ICI Autism Summer Institute series, Behavior is Communicative…But There Is More to Say than “I Am Mad”, discussed how people with significant behavioral needs, even those with limited communication skills, can learn to solve problems and be a part of their own support team. Co-hosted by Syracuse University School…
Read MoreH-O-P-E! It is PRICELESS!! – An Autistic Typer’s Parent’s Story
“my mom tells me she knows i am smart” These are the first words my non-verbal almost 13 year old son diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) typed with his Music Therapist, who happens to be getting trained in “Supported Typing [Facilitated Communication]“! That was on October 25, 2013 and our life has completely changed…
Read MoreVideo: Laura Poorman on Facilitated Communication and Supported Typing: Answers to Key Questions
Facilitated Communication Trainer Laura Poorman discusses facilitated communication and supported typing with John Smyth. [dt_divider style=”thick” /] Answers to Key Questions About Supported Typing (Feb. 25, 2012) Read the transcript of this conversation below the video. [dt_divider style=”thick” /] Transcript: Laura Poorman Answers John Smyth’s Questions John: The understanding I have…
Read MoreSkype Video Conferencing Technology Expands Autistic Typers’ World
On Friday afternoon, January 24, 2014, an extraordinary event occurred when a 21st Century technology helped expand the world a bit for four people affected by autism that struggle daily to communicate and find acceptance in the “normal” world. For the first time, nonverbal autistic typers Todd Washburne, age 47, Joe Kelly, almost 19, Josh…
Read MoreMark 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…
Read MoreFacilitated Communication: Tracy Thresher & John Smyth at 2011 ICI Summer Institute
Supported typers Tracy Thresher, co-star of the documentary Wretches & Jabberers, and John Smyth use supported typing to have a conversation at Syracuse University’s 2011 Institute of Communication and Inclusion Summer Institute: Connection, Communication, and Creativity. A true example of Facilitated Communication in action! This is the first time Tracy and John had an opportunity…
Read MoreTodd Washburne: Joining the Real World as an Adult Typer
I was raised as being retarded because I could not communicate. My frustration level was off the charts throughout my school years. The many times I got in trouble were driving me crazy and I couldn’t even be a tattletale so I was teased a lot. However, I did learn stuff like speed reading and…
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