Please access the free video recording here.
Facilitated Communication (FC) is a topic that raises many questions for parents and educators developing communication programs for their children with autism who exhibit complex communication needs. Guest speakers discussed FC (e.g., history, resurgence, issues around its use), and also Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) options and ways to distinguish between evidence-based and non-evidence-based interventions.
Panelist Bios:
Ralf Schlosser, Ph.D.
Ralf Schlosser is a Professor in Communication Sciences and Disorders at Northeastern University where he teaches graduate courses on AAC, and EBP as well as an undergraduate course on Communication Disorders in Movies. He also serves as the Director of Clinical Research at the Center for Communication Enhancement, Autism Language Program, Boston Children’s Hospital. Ralf graduated with a PhD from the transdisciplinary AAC program at Purdue University where he served as Project Coordinator of the Severe Disabilities Training Program and as the Project Coordinator of the AAC-Technical Assistance Team to Schools in Indiana. Upon graduation, he served as Manager of Research at the Oklahoma AT Center and Director of State Department of Education AT Programs, followed by Research Coordinator and AAC Clinician at Bloorview MacMillan Centre (Toronto, Canada). Ralf has published extensively on AAC interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other developmental disabilities and has a scholarly interest in evidence-based practice and research methodology. Ralf is Fellow of the American Speech-Language-and Hearing Association (ASHA), the American Association for Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD), and the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC). He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Augmentative and Alternative Communication, the flagship journal of the AAC field. He is the founding Editor-in-Chief of Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention. He has managed funding from federal agencies, including HRSA, OSEP & NIDILRR.
Howard C. Shane, Ph.D.
Dr. Howard Shane is the Director of the Autism Language Program in the Department of Otolaryngology and Communication Enhancement at Boston Children’s Hospital. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otology and Otolaryngology at Harvard Medical School, and Professor of Communication Sciences and Disorders at Massachusetts General Hospital Institute for Health Professions. Dr. Shane is a Fellow of the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) and is a recipient of their Honors of the Association award. In addition, Dr. Shane has received the Goldenson Award for Innovations in Technology from the United Cerebral Palsy Association and the Pioneers Award from the Council for Exceptional Children. Dr. Shane is known for his technology developments and has produced over 12 computer applications and holds two US patents. He is the author of numerous research papers, chapters and books on severe speech impairment including “Enhancing Communication for Individuals with Autism: A Guide to the Visual Immersion System™,”a systematic approach that uses technology and visual supports to enhance learning and communication.
James T. Todd, Ph.D.
James T. Todd is professor of psychology at Eastern Michigan University. He has served as Psychology Department Head and Associate Dean of Arts and Sciences, also at EMU. He has a Ph.D. in Developmental and Child Psychology (1990) and a Masters in Human Development (1986) from the University of Kansas, where he also earned bachelors degrees in psychology and human development (1981). Prior to coming to EMU in 1990, Dr. Todd was a radio engineer for KANU in Lawrence Kansas, and has taught electronics, programmable logic controllers, and mathematics for General Motors and Kansas City Area Vocational Technical School. His current areas of interest and expertise are the history of psychology (in which he has two books co-edited with Edward K. Morris), animal models of obsessive compulsive disorder and anorexia nervosa, animal models of exposure therapy, and pseudoscientific communication interventions including Facilitated Communication (FC) and Rapid Prompting (RPM). Dr. Todd has served as an expert witness or consultant in several court cases involving false allegations of abuse authored using FC and RPM. Additionally, he worked to develop and pass Michigan’s autism insurance reform laws and was a co-author of Michigan’s behavior analysis licensing bills. He has taught university courses in basic computer use and ethics, conditioning and learning, history and systems, sensation and perception, and ecological psychology. When he is not involved in academics and policy, Dr. Todd enjoys electronics, amateur radio, and equestrian sports.
Janyce L. Boynton, M.Ed., B.S.
Janyce is an artist, educator, and advocate for evidence-based practices in the field of communication sciences and disorders. As a speech/language clinician in the early 1990s, she became involved with facilitated communication. Her story, first as believer, then as critic, is well-documented and was featured on Frontline’s “Prisoners of Silence”. She left teaching to pursue her artwork but has continued to be active in educating people about the dangers of FC and other facilitator-influenced techniques. An overview of her experiences with FC can be found in Stuart Vyse’s “An Artist With a Science-Based Mission”, published in Skeptical Inquirer (November 2018). Her 2012 article, “Facilitated Communication: What Harm it Can Do – Confessions of a Former Facilitator”, published in the journal Evidence-Based Communication and Intervention, was the first of its kind. To date, she is one of the few facilitators world-wide to publicly acknowledge her role in producing FC messages and speak out against its use. She is currently co-hosting a series of talks on the About Time Youtube Channel with Susan Gerbic exploring the many facets of FC.
