I don't remember just how or when I learned this particular lesson, but it sure was an important one. Facilitated Communication, or typing/spelling to communicate was changing the lives of many young people who had spent years unable to use speech to share their thoughts. But it wasn't only beneficial for those who were non-speaking. The method involves providing some level of physical support for those who have motor differences and might not be able to speak, write, type, or even point reliably. It was also potentially helpful to many whose speech and motor skills appeared to be intact.
Enter Randy, who could talk (and did that almost non-stop) and who loved to write. Carrying the label of autism, he was the oldest member of my class that year, and spent part of his day in a regular fifth grade classroom. When he returned to our resource room, he entertained all of us by repeating almost verbatim what the fifth grade teacher had said during the previous class, complete with diagrams and notes written (very legibly) on our chalkboard.
So, you may ask, why would I even consider offering FC as an alternative? It didn't seem necessary at first, but it did happen. During the time that Randy was with us, I was often attempting to carry out some sort of academic lesson for the younger students, and Randy's constant chatter was distracting to all of us. We needed to find a way to work around this problem.
If I were working at a table on a reading or math lesson, Randy was surprisingly content to join us - if he could sit very close to me. While I interacted with the others, he quietly wrote notes to me and passed them my way in between my spoken comments to the other students. I could quickly write a response to his question or comment and return to the group lesson at hand. He always insisted on a clean piece of paper and pens of two colors - one for him and one for me.
Randy seemed to be communicating on two levels. Orally, he could discuss lessons from science or social studies classes, and could also answer questions we might ask about things that were troubling him, as reported in his written comments - for instance, an earache, problems with kids on his bus or fears of the fire alarm going off. But all those personal anxiety-related issues were never initiated orally by him, only in writing.
Over time, those written comments began to raise my level of concern. Typical questions included the following (all neatly printed in red ink, with my answers to be given in blue): "Is your husband nice when you get home?" "Does your husband get mad at your kids?" "How about this morning. Was your husband mad at you?" "When you were a little girl was your father mad at you?" None of this fit with what Randy wrote about HIS family. Invariably he wrote that he loved his family and his home. Over and over again, his written words ended with, "I am happy." Any time he reported an earache or stomach problem, he also begged to go home. From time to time, I tried using FC with him to see if that might help clear up some of the confusion, but he had no interest in that at all.
Until one day when he was unusually agitated and seated in the computer lab. I sat next to him and for the first time ever, he allowed me to put my hand gently on his as I asked what was troubling him. He typed these words: I THINK I OUGHT TO LEAVE MY FAMILY and then immediately lost it. Frantically hitting the delete key, he erased everything as he shouted that he hadn't written that, then began screaming and flailing wildly. I attempted to calm him down, and eventually he dissolved in tears and became quiet.
Just two days later, Randy eagerly used FC with me and typed: I THINK YOU SHOULD TELL MY DAD TO TAKE ME TO THE HOSPITA . . . (at which point he panicked and begged me to erase what he had written). Things changed quickly after that. For one thing, we started using FC for math work, and learned that Randy understood fractions and decimals, and had at least a basic understanding of algebra and geometry as well. For another thing, his anxiety was steadily increasing and his behavior was becoming more erratic and disruptive.
With some coaxing on my part, Randy agreed to share some of his writing with the school principal and psychologist, who were at this time trying to convince his parents that medication for his anxiety might be advisable. He also agreed that I could share with his parents some of the academic work he was now doing using FC. They were clearly skeptical, but at least the door had been opened and I was hoping for further discussions.
Randy's typed messages became more frequent, and much more disturbing. Instead of typing on the computer, we started using a letter board, so there was no visible record of what he was typing, and that opened the floodgates. The school psychologist contacted Randy's parents and started spending more time alone with Randy, and the principal contacted Social Services, but truthfully no one really knew how to handle the situation. Randy stopped going to his fifth grade classes, and was having frequent outbursts that were scaring everyone involved.
Soon Randy was writing on his own that he was not happy, and telling us orally that he wanted to meet with the social worker. Enlisting the help of a former teacher of Randy's, I had her attempt a conversation with him using FC, and also with no physical support. Then we tried the same with the school psychologist, . Randy cooperated every step of the way, reporting things like yelling and hitting - but then quickly contradicting himself or denying something he had said earlier. We were all very confused.
My final step was to contact the social worker myself, who agreed to visit us at school. Immediately Randy became calm and happy once again. Her visit a few days later went very smoothly. He willingly demonstrated how we use FC together, and then allowed her to give it a try, answering several routine questions with her support and encouragement. As the interview proceeded, I noticed that Randy was not only responding on the letter board, but he was also orally giving answers in a clear, relaxed manner that I hadn't seen in months, if ever. His relaxed, happy manner continued throughout the following day, even though someone had contacted his parents and he knew they were angry.
But that was the last time I saw Randy. The home contact led to angry denials. and Randy was withdrawn from school. The social worker, as caring and supportive as she was, told me there was really nothing more she could do. It is now 27 years later, and I have nothing I can add to this story.
Lessons learned: Sometimes folks need extra support to get true feelings out; FC might help. Sometimes when a new means of communication is found, things might get worse - especially if there are deep feelings that aren't so pleasant. Schools don't like dealing with reports of abuse; they may even prefer that we take away the communication method that works best for a particular student, or never introduce such methods in the first place. Life is not always fair and not all stories have a happy ending.
