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Question: why are the facilitators holding and moving the tablets? Can't they just use larger tablets atached to the table?

This was amazing! Thank you for opening my eyes to understand so much more than I knew previously about the need for communication and this amazing opportunity that needs to be shared 🫶 The lives of these young people are Beautifully shared, captured and now can change the world 🌎 Revolutionary indeed!!!

My youngest brother is learning to communicate through this incredible method. I think it’s taken me a while to watch this documentary, to start watching it that is, and it wasn’t because I didn’t know how to click play. It takes us who are neurotypical time over invisible hurdles to do all sorts of things. I’m so proud of him for achieving this breakthrough and for my parents who have pursued this and so many other methods before this to accomplish this breakthrough in communicating with him and even each other. Love this, thank you thank you for sharing

This is one of the most amazing documentaries I have ever seen.

There is only evidence that facilitated communication doesn't work. And story's of people who want to believe that it does. Read the enormous amount of evidence on the English Wikipedia, and never do this kind of communication without proper testing!

Why not place these letterboards on a steady surface instead of holding it? What if the fascilitator would be blindfolded? What if the fascilatator does not give verbal cues? That would take away the possibility of influencing the communicator. Fascilitated communication does not give non verbal people a voice, it takes it away. There are better ways to communicate now.

While I'm extremely happy to have been recommended to watch this video, and it has brought so much awareness. Informed me in ways NO doctor or "program" has thus far.... I am also sad by the thought that this type of educational information is not made to be more public and common knowledge to the masses! I've seen ridiculous celebrity gossip videos get more views and comments than this one. Autism families are their own community and advocate and inform each other. That is how I found this video. NOT by a therapist, teacher, doctor or by "the system"! I will share this video to as many I know to spread the awareness & pray that someday this type of education and information is world wide as well implemented in EVERY educational system.🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽

This made me cry. Also, I see ads on youtube and elsewhere for making money online, a new type of cooking pan, or programs to get in shape… every day, every ten minutes or so. Yet I don’t see any news about this Spellers program besides this video. WHY?! Maybe it takes time and money, and I would understand if you wanted to keep it honest and clear, uncluttered by some business raptors ready to swoop in and market it. Or maybe not in a hurry for academic snobs eager to compete and critique for the sake of getting their opinion heard, to stay relevant and keep that pay as high as ever. In this country, you should be able to get some serious sponsors, with deep pockets to help this word get out. This idea and approach needs to be typed and shouted to the world. There must be many, many people that have no idea that Spellers exists.

This is a godsend! My 2 year old son who is profoundly autistic just started spelling last month. We're so thankful for this method to communicate with our toddler. Today he spelled perfectly This exact phrase: "mom, I think what resides in me is more important than my outer self. Thank you for allowing me to communicate." Praise you all for this. We're so grateful!

This documentary has already changed my life!! 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

Amazing... my 4-year-old baby girl is autistic... this video had me weeping from the start... there is hope for her and her future...I will look into this soon. Thank you.

I’ve worked with autistic children and teens for over 30 years, the majority of that time in the school system. I’ve used every single communication method there is, and I’m extremely familiar with the challenges of apraxia. There is no reason for a facilitator to be holding the stencil- in fact, a moving stencil would make it harder for someone with apraxia. Autistic people are also excellent at memorization and following patterns. I worked with a boy who typed into a device to communicate- but the only things he typed were pages and chapters of a random story. I found out that his parents had given him a random novel to practice his typing, and he had memorized the entire thing. When he made a request using the device, it consisted of a one word sentence, often misspelled. I think the “spellers” in this movie have just memorized the patterns of the words to common questions about being non-speaking, etc . The woman at 32.00? I believe she really was feeling sad. She didn’t enjoy the spelling activity. Also notice this “apraxic” woman had no problems with the sticker puzzle she was doing.

For more information on motor planning, apraxia, presuming competence.....basically why spelling methods make sense according to brain science, read The Spellers Guidebook by Dawnmarie Gaivin and Dana Johnson. It also gives advice on how to start this spelling journey with your nonspeaker or minimal speaker.

So I understand that there is a disconnect between the brain and the body’s ability to perform. Totally get that. My question though is….Why does there have to be someone holding this stencil or keyboard? If it needs to be at a certain angle to make it accessible for these learners, then why can’t it be on a stand at a particular height so they can access it? I u destined the facilitator gives verbal prompts to help them attend or stay on track. Couldn’t that still be done without touching the actual device? This sounds great however, there isn’t enough research available to stop me from thinking that there could be help coming from the facilitators intentionally or unintentionally. This sounds like facilitated communication repackaged.

absolutly amazing

Uma pena que o vídeo não está disponível para tradução automática em outros idiomas. Exclui-se muitas pessoas deste conteúdo.

Wow

My non-speaking daughter is 6 and loves letters. She already uses beginning letters to communicate. For example "h" is often Hello when somebody greets her. "s" is usually "sing" and "z" zoo etc.

I’m sorry, I have to use the “R” word. To think that you have to have some kind of scientific double-blind experiment with placebo and peer review for evidence-based medicine/practice here is RETARDED. And I mean that in the harshest terms. EBM is for INTERVENTIONS and is to save money. To check for efficacy is also part of the saving money. S2C IS NOT AN INTERVENTION. It is a COMMUNICATION TOOL. The efficacy is that these kids ARE SPEAKING. Do you think that Samuel Morse got together a committee and used a double-blind experiment with two groups of subjects to design Morse Code? If he had done that, it would have never happened. It’s a communication tool when verbal or written speech is not available. Language is not an intervention, and the means to understand it is called communication. No drugs or electrical devices are needed. Whoever sees this and thinks they have to be convinced by some kind of science is in need of a psychological intervention, preferably evidence-based. (Because communication in plain sight is not working here.)

Oh my gosh how can the kids keep their train of thought with her constantly saying “and” between each letter? It’s so amazing but that part drives me crazy.

you can tell no one in this comment section has had a university education 👀

This is very controversial and not backed by science. The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has taken a rare hard-and-fast formal stance against these techniques and state they can do very serious harm. People watching this please do some research and dont be fooled, google RPM/Spelling to Communicate and it's dangers, don't subject your loved ones to harmful pseudoscience! Untested techniques, like RPM, prey upon vulnerable families when effective and appropriate interventions already exist. Please consult a speech-language pathologist if you can.

Can't wait to find somewhere closer that we can go for this help! I know he knows so much!

My mother-in-law's friend's son just opened! He's 31 ❤ praise the Lord!

That woman lives in a fantasy world shes off her rocker .Its all so wrong .I dont believe a word she says .

There are many problematic issues with this, but overall our non-speaking students have been largely left behind in so many ways. This is starting to change very slowly in research for non speakers, though community based intervention services and caregiver supports are SORELY lacking and completely fall off in adulthood. I recommend reading the full statement from ASHA. 1. There is uncertainty regarding who does the spelling. With RPM, you can’t tell whether the words being spelled out belong to the autistic child-or to their aide. The aide holding the alphabet board may move the board unintentionally in the direction of the letter that they think the child should select next. This is called facilitator bias, a documented phenomenon in which a helper unintentionally influences the message produced. Aides might well have good intentions, but in using RPM, they may unknowingly insert their own assumptions and thoughts into the message. A simple way to reduce facilitator bias is for the aide to place the alphabet board on a table or mount instead of holding it in the air. 2. RPM creates dependence on another person, thus preventing independent communication. The primary goal of speech-language intervention is independent communication, which is a basic human right. Independence is critical: It ensures that the words, thoughts, and feelings an individual expresses are indeed their own and not the words of another person. 3. RPM lacks evidence of effectiveness. There is no research showing that RPM is effective in producing independent communication. Indeed, there is active resistance by RPM proponents to conducting research on the technique. They claim that research may put children in stressful testing situations-and that the process of conducting research is insulting or demeaning. From a scientific standpoint, this avoidance of appropriate testing of the technique, and this resistant attitude toward examining RPM, raises serious red flags about the technique. 4. RPM holds the potential for harm. Children and their families can incur serious harm from the use of RPM. They risk wasting months to years on an unproven method when effective and appropriate interventions already exist. Untested techniques, like RPM, often prey upon vulnerable families. Families also risk losing money and time-which may already be scarce-that cannot be retrieved. Parents are often asked to travel long distances to attend expensive workshops to learn the technique. 5. RPM is similar to a discredited and dangerous technique called Facilitated Communication (FC). FC is a pseudoscientific technique that has been widely discredited in a large body of published, peer-reviewed, scientific research. FC has resulted in serious harm to people with disabilities and their families, including false allegations obtained through FC of sexual abuse and maltreatment. When is the use of a letter board appropriate? Children and adults with limited oral speech may use a keyboard to type out messages. When used independently, letter, word, and picture boards are valid examples of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). AAC encompasses a variety of low-tech communication boards and high-tech speech-generating devices that help a person communicate. There are several ways to use these systems, including the use of eye gaze if the person cannot use their hands to access the system. SLPs are the trained professionals who can help people with severe speech and language difficulties find the best AAC option for them. www.asha.org/slp/asha-warns-against-rapid-prompting-method-or-spelling-to-communicate/

the ‘cost’ of our non-speaking population is more than anyone can fathom State/federal and insurance money has been paying for 1000s of hours of ABA, SPEECH, OT and other therapies PER INDIVIDUAL not to mention RESPIT and other services to ‘help’ parents - often with little progress, yet these are considered to be ‘working’ ?!? My son after less than 100 hrs of learning to use spelling boards was able to ‘SPEAK HIS MIND’ and spell to us that he WANTED MORE FROM LIFE and stop going to his day program learning life skills The spellers in this movie have SHOWN that this works - they show their intelligence, thoughtful replies, sense of humor, personalities - They are the Spellers and do not have the presumed cognitive issues that came with their diagnosis of autism. AND you can see how hard some have to work to control their body. Research apraxia and dyspraxia THIS is truly life changing for them and their families. THIS is not a Hollywood production This is real life, real people, and unedited Why deny this population the option to try? And to choose their preferred form of communication? ASL and Braille were not initially accepted, spelling boards is real communication too!

What is the keyboard / monitor layout used by the young man? I am unable to find it although it looks simple enough to duplicate with an ipad and a simple keyboard.

Episode 1 of the Underestimated series, sequel to the Spellers documentary, is now out. It focuses on the educational system.

Truly a breakthrough for our unforgiving worlds!

Any connections in Melbourne Australia ?

Where can i get a talking keyboard as shown with Evan

czcams.com/video/_XCVYfmvCQE/video.html

im here looking for answers and left in tears. thanks guys youre awesome

Why have none of these Parents Lobbied Congress....??????

Where can I buy the spellingboard?

Just imagine when they get brain link available to the public how amazing it will be for these people!!!!

♡

Please help us in Montana USA

This is facilitated communication rebranded.

Do you teach them to read first ? I dont understand how they are learning language

I gave my son an AAC two years ago when he was five. He’s Seven now and his favorite part of his board was when I opened up the keyboard screen. He was fascinated and instantly started trying to spell.

It took my son 3 years of hard work to learn how to spell on a keyboard, he needed the help of trained therapists to get him there, if we'd sat him in front of a keyboard with no help he wouldn't have learned

What am I really surprised about? Did the parents really not think of letting their child type on the keyboard? Do they really think that only the school is responsible for this? Scientists? No one cares more about a child than a parent, which can also be seen in this film. I was lucky, I gave the child a keyboard myself. I didn't expect anything from school, let alone scientists. Now I see it on film, 6 years later. A very good film and this idea should reach as many people as possible.

Please , in Spanish Por favor en español también 🙏🏻

This is amazing! I have so much hope for this. I hope that this is available in Australia. This could be life changing for our family too.

I would like to know. I’m Only 30 mins into this movie.. I see the children that are using the spelling board are able to sit in the chair and are more on the calmer side! So has there been successes with children that are severely autistic, nonverbal, aggressive, hard of hearing (will not wear hearing aids) and constantly hyperactive? Can this work for a child of those behaviors?

This video gives me great hope for my 2 non-verbal Autistic sons who are 5 and 7 years old! I always tell them I know they are so intelligent and have so much they want to say and I cannot wait until the day I can “hear” what is on their heart and mind. I really do hope to hear them verbally speak but I would be SOOOOO grateful no matter what way they can use their “voice”. Thank you so much for this video.

So proud of EVERY Speller that has gone against the grain of traditional education to open so many new opportunities for themselves! There are SO many people that believe in you and your abilities. Don't let the naysers get you down because YOU ARE AMAZING, competent, smart and intelligent! PRESUMING COMPETENCE makes such a huge difference!!! 🤟💌

This is awesome to watch again. Now that I am familiar with the players and spelling its so exciting!!