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Definition: According to believers, facilitated communication is a technique which allows people with little or no communication abilities (like people with severe autism) to communicate with others at a level far exceeding their assumed skills. This technique was originally developed by Rosemary Crossley and some associates at the Dignity Through Education and Language (DEAL) Communication Centre in Melbourne, Australia. It was later introduced into the United States by Douglas Biklen, director of the division of special education and rehabilitation at Syracuse University.
The process involves a facilitator who supports the subject's elbow or arm, directing one of their fingers at a pad or paper on which letters, numbers and a few key words are written. The subject's finger then moves to different areas on the paper in order to answer questions or simply provide information. If this sounds like the basic process behind a Ouija Board, you would be right - the similarities are great, and there is every reason to think that the ideomotor effect is what is really going on.
The most famous study done of facilitated communication was performed by D. Wheeler, et al, and appeared in Mental Retardation vol. 31, no. 1. In their article, "An Experimental Assessment of Facilitated Communication," it was revealed that when facilitated communication users were asked to identify pictures of everyday objects which the facilitator was not able to see, there were 0 correct responses out of 180 attempts.
The appeal of facilitated communication is mostly emotional. What parent would not want to believe what their child, once thought severely mentally retarded, can now communicate with the world and express love? Facilitators, too, have a strong emotional investment in the belief that they are saving others from a lifetime of communicative seclusion from their friends and family.
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