SPELLING TO COMMUNICATE: Miracle Autism Therapy or Fraud?
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- Опубликовано: 1 фев 2025
- Spelling to Communicate also known as S2C is a hot topic right now since the release and recent popularity of the Documercial movie called Spellers and the widely publicized Valedictorian speech of S2C user Elizabeth Bonkers. So what is S2C? Spelling to Communicate is a therapy that teaches non speaking or unreliably speaking autistics to communicate by pointing to letters on a letterboard and spelling what they want to say. The board is held for them by a communication partner. Advocates for Spelling to Communicate make claims such as "I can get anyone to spell for me" and "Autism isn't a neurodevelopmental disorder it's a motor skill issue"
Opponents of Spelling to Communicate say the therapy is just Facilitated Communication or Rapid Prompt method repacked. FC and RPM have been widely criticized as a pseudoscience. The biggest concern is whether or not the messages being relayed are from the person spelling or the facilitator. Despite the lack of evidence based studies the method still brings about some powerful and emotional testimonies from parents and nonverbal autistics alike.
This is my first dive into Spelling to Communicate and my initial reactions to the controversial strategy. While I never want to invalid anyone's method of communication I do have some concerns and a lot of questions.
Have you tried Spelling to Communicate with your loved one? Have you heard of it and what are your thoughts?
Whether you're a parent of a child with autism, a caregiver, or someone seeking to learn more about this remarkable community, this vlog is an opportunity to connect, inspire, and foster a sense of unity in our collective pursuit of inclusivity and acceptance.
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My son is soon 19 and recently began communicating via spelling to communicate! He is nonspeaking and has used augementative communication since he was in kindergarten with increasing success but we were still limited to his requests about food choices, where he wants to go, and a couple of feelings he expressed (happy, sad). But in just the last week I have discovered he can spell and answer questions about information I have verbally provided but better yet about himself! I have learned his favourite colour is purple and that he can confirm when he has had a seizure when we are sometimes unsure if he had one. He can tell us why he likes certain sensory things like the sound of velcro or that certain shows help him feel calm. It is nothing short of a bonafide miracle and it costs almost nothing and I have learned from books and youtube. It is not smoke and mirrors it is simple and it works.
thats amazing! Thanks so much for sharing!
@bowen_is_cool
Your story sounds familiar. I’d love to connect and hear more.
Does he spell without you touching the letter board? You can put it on its land board or you can use a very large touchpad tablet and set up so that impulsive responding is accounted for. If he’s spelling independently without you touching anything otherwise his communication is controlled by another person
The board should be stationary and not held to voice facilitator influence. Kids can learn to spell and write and type without physical manipulation by anyone. I hope that there isn't an avalanche of sexual abuse allegations made through this as they were through facilitated communication. I saw wonderful parents who were completely innocent accused of sexually abusing their kids.
Also I agree about the feeling about the facilitator. Chris is like, why can't they spell at home then Needs to be with a "facilitator" well that makes it seem sketch.
Ya I’m not sold but im just a regular ol person so I dunno. 🤷♀️ but I see a lot of red flags. I also find it weird that nobody is spelling just some normal everyday stuff. It’s always a grande statement of some kind or overly poetic. I just don’t know. I’d have to see a lot more evidence than what I’ve seen so far. Would be nice to see it in a natural environment
@@thatdailymama Yes, this "facilitated communication" was a thing when my 38 year old son was a kid, and it was debunked back then, at least in most cases. It involved using a desktop computer keyboard, which is all there was back then. The facilitator assisted the child in typing words.
I'm surprised it is still being touted now that we have devices kids can learn to use on their own. I can see helping the child learn to use the device by showing them.
My son was little before all the devices they have now, but he used picture books with Mayer Johnson pictures. I also just made him a picture book using pictures from magazines and ads that I put in a photo album. Very primitive but he did use it all the time. And he did learn about 60 words.
We do the free lessons on line and are having great results
Many speller's spell at home with their families, it just takes a lot of practice. Like any new motor skill their bodies need a lot of prompting, eventually those prompts fade.
Also, many of the practitioners are actually parents who started spelling with their children with such success and now they want to share it with other families.
It’s real. I use it with my son who is 29. They can eventually learn to type unassisted. For the people who say the facilitator is helping them what the hell…..is the autistic individual reading their minds to know what letters to point to??? Get some real life knowledge before you judge!
When the facilitator is with your son, ask your son a very very very simple qestion that ONLY your son knows and the facilitator would not know. Maybe choose an aunt he loves, let's say it's Aunt Susie. Ask "who is susie?".
Then have him type the answer in the manner he usually does with the facilitator helping. If he types "my aunt" then it's likely legitimate. If he types something else like "my friend at school" (presumably there is nobody in his class named susie) then you know the facilitator is doing the work the whole time. The facilitator doesn't read minds, they just do the thinking and pretend it's the autistic student doing it.
There were children on that Documentary spelling completely independent of a facilitator or parent. We need to stop putting trust in the institutions that lie to us. They have an agenda. Give hope to the children and let their brilliance shine.
It’s important to understand apraxia/dyspraxia to understand it’s a motor issue. Yes, just like anything anyone learns in the beginning is prompted but those prompts are faded out. It is also a motor hierarchy so the boards change over time while building motor skills. When the motor progresses overtime they can and do type on keyboards or touchscreens to communicate with the end result of independence. Depending on sensory profile some might need a person to say focus, finish your sentence due to distraction with attention etc. However at this stage nobody is holding a board/ keyboard for them or giving any letter prompts. This is actually very different than Facilitated Communication (FC)
The comments I have been seeing on Gabe's instagram have been wild. I really want to see the documentary!!! I also relate to not really going many places. She did so good and love that the doc understood like omg... love.
Speller's is now streaming on RUclips
The Speller's documentary is now free on RUclips. Speller's Freedom Foundation
The facilitator teaches you how to assist your own child. You are not pushed to continue going to a facilitator. Lessons are free online and you can buy the boards. You can actually learn online and not pay anyone. Check out Elizabeth Breen nonverbal valedictorian who set up a nonprofit website to instuct parents to facilitate their own children.
Her name is Elizabeth Bonker and her nonprofit is Communication 4 All.
You're right my bad😊 my son just started and is doing so well I want to see all non verbal people find their voice ❤
That’s fantastic! I’m excited for your son and family the world is about to open up to him!
Hello from Australia.. My Son is 6 years old and ex 25 weeker survival twin and was recently diagnosed with level 3 ASD and is also a Gestalt learning Processor.. I came across this channel and it made me smile.. as my Elijah does a lot of the same.. his quite vocal too.. you are doing amazing thankyou for sharing..
My autistic son used to open drawers, play with the BP cuff, spin around, and it was very challenging!
She always wants to touch the computer and those ear things that are on the wall
@@thatdailymama yes, that stack of covers for the otoscope! He wanted to stack and unstack them.
I met someone who use it an he does it on his own an it’s real
It is real
Where can I watch the movie?
Google Spellers documentary i think it's $10 on demand
You can watch stories on RUclips for free. There are a lot of individuals stories
Speller's is now streaming on RUclips for free.
Thanks so much for sharing. You look so sad in this video. I feel for you honey. Hang in there. We got a little fella in our family. We understand.
never heard of this before today
wow thats a really interesting thing if it is real