By Gina Green, APBA Executive Director

The New England Center for Children (NECC), an APBA sponsor, and APBA Affiliate The Berkshire Association for Behavior Analysis & Therapy (BABAT) are working to revise a bill in Massachusetts that would encourage teachers to use Facilitated Communication (FC). The technique, which is claimed to enable people with communication difficulties to spell when a “facilitator” guides them to point to letters by holding their hand or arm or giving other cues, was thoroughly discredited in the 1990s when scores of scientific evaluations and legal cases revealed that it is facilitators – not people with disabilities – who spell messages with FC.  Some of the earliest controlled testing of FC was done at NECC, a well-respected ABA program for learners with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Recently a bill was introduced in the MA legislature that would require all teacher candidates to be trained in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) techniques. The bill inaccurately identifies FC as a legitimate AAC method. NECC Director of Research, BABAT Board member, and APBA Autism Spectrum Disorders Task Force member Bill Ahearn and other BABAT leaders are trying to educate MA legislators and the public about the harms of FC. For a recent news story, go to http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/state/x42388429/Bill-would-make-it-easier-on-students-who-cannot-hear

The proposed bill (S 223) can be found at  http://www.mass.gov/legis/bills/senate/186/st00pdf/st00223.pdf
Interested readers can submit comments to:
Rep. Martha Walz -  Rep.MartyWalz@hou.state.ma.us
Sen. Robert A. O'Leary - Robert.O'Leary@state.ma.us
Joint Committee on Education
State House, Room 473G
Boston, MA 02133