zhrmbgohypc

I believe facilitated communication helps put the person typing on track, providing comfort as a type of entrainment occurs. As the facilitator or agent, I sense I serve as a catalyst for untrained thought to organize itself for conscious expression. Adhering to the energy of another seems to help the person typing calm down his own chaotic flow.

I attempt to open the channel for this to occur by joining energy with the person typing. In doing so, I suspect a union occurs at a subconscious level. Love, trust and expectation of competence appears to aid the connection.

I feel facilitated communication deepens the relationship of the parties involved. FC creates a sense of balance as partners move in tandem and establish a rhythm. Disengaged channels are suddenly all on the same wave length; submerged in free flowing thoughts.

Supporters of FC contend the nonverbal person may have been gleaning information from his environment even if he has not been formally taught literacy skills. Detractors believe the facilitator may be leading the person typing without even knowing it. I postulate that in addition to picking up information from the environment, the typist is able to access information from the knowledge base of others, the subconscious mind, and universal field of thought.

My experience has been this: that facilitator influence can and does occur. The children are so sensitive to my thoughts that their messages can be distorted by my tendency to project and anticipate. If I remain blank, it is nearly impossible for me to keep the flow of communication going. It is even more difficult if the person typing is hitting the keys independently while I am holding the device than if physical support is provided.

As a facilitator, I hope that allowing them to ride my thought patterns is a component of the process; yet, I am frustrated that the relationship between the autistic person typing and the facilitator has not been studied. Researching the basic principles and limitations of the process is necessary to determine what is valid. We need to stop defining the experience of individuals with severe sensory differences in the context of our perceptual reality.

A phenomena is occurring; however, I feel the wrong questions have been asked. Concerns have revolved around 'who' the information is emanating from, rather than the 'relationship' that is occurring that allows for the information to be transcribed. How does this relationship occur? What are we to learn from it? Does it help the person with severe autism understand our language system? Does it help us understand their system of direct knowing?

Serving as a facilitator has expanded the parameters of my consciousness. It is a gift that comes with responsibility. I am not a scientist or researcher. My responsibility is to tell the truth of my experience, and to serve as a subject and a navigator for those interested in further study. Please let me know if I can be of service.

I have served as a teacher of individuals with autism for 18 years. What they have taught me was to be sure of nothing and open myself to the extraordinary. As FC controversy rages on, many students have been denied this intervention due to lack of understanding of all the variables. It is time to seek the truth!

Mary Ann Harrington

http://web.mac.com/maharrington