Supplement to Skeptical Inquirer Presents: Facilitated Communication, Authorship Testing, and The Telepathy Tapes
On August 27, 2026, I gave a talk called “Facilitated Communication, Authorship Testing and The Telepathy Tapes for Skeptical Inquirer Presents. This blog post is a supplement to that talk and provides references and resources to topics covered in the presentation (in order of appearance).
Skeptical Inquirer Presents Facilitated Communication, Authorship Testing, and The Telepathy Tapes
FCisNotScience YouTube Channel - Dedicated to raising awareness about the problem of facilitator cueing and control over letter selection in facilitator-dependent techniques. Please subscribe, like, share, and comment to help grow this channel
Critiques of the Telepathy Tapes (blog posts, news articles, etc.)
Vyse, Stuart. (2026, August 10). California Endorses Dangerous Autism Pseudoscience. Skeptical Inquirer.
FMI: FC/S2C/RPM Opposition Statements, Systematic Reviews, Controlled Studies
Saved by Typing (January 13, 2014). Facilitated Communication/Supported Typing
Auerbach, D. (2015, November 12).Facilitated communication is a cult that won’t die. Slate.
Palfreman, J. (Producer). (1993, October 19). Frontline: Prisoners of silence. Boston, MA: WGBH Public Television
Wheeler, DL, Jacobson, JW, Paglieri, RA, and Schwartz, AA. (1993). An experimental assessment of facilitated communication. Mental Retardation. Vol 31 (1), 49-60.
Crossley on Telepathy and Early Authorship Testing
Crossley, Rosemary. (1994). Facilitated Communication Training. Teachers College Press. ISBN: 978-0807733271
When did the FC leadership know about the fatal flaws with their technique? (Part 1)
When did the FC leadership know about the fatal flaws with their technique? (Part 2 - IDRP)
The Carla Case
Heinrichs, P. (1991, March 10). Experts slam disabled ‘charade', Sunday Age (Melbourne, Australia), Late Edition, pp. 1
Heinrichs, P. (1992, February 16). Suffering at the Hands of the Protectors. The Sunday Morning Herald.
Heinrichs, P. (1992, February 16). State 'tortured' family – 'tragic'. Sunday Age (Melbourne, Australia) Late Edition, pp. 1
Heinrichs, P. (1992, February 23). 'Tortured' family may call for probe on facilitated evidence. Sunday Age, Melbourne, Australia, Late Edition, pp. 8
Heinrichs, P. (1992, February 23). More families take on CSV 'zealots'. Sunday Age, Melbourne, Australia, Late Edition, pp. 7
Heinrichs, P. (1992, April 12). Taxpayers will foot bill for 'Carla' case. Sunday Age, Melbourne, Australia, Late Edition, pp. 11
Heinrichs, P. (1992, May 17). US courts to rule on disability method. Sunday Age, Melbourne, Australia, Late Edition, pp. 9
Heinrichs, P. (1992, May 31). 'Carla' case prompts overhaul of system. Sunday Age, Melbourne, Australia, Late Edition, pp. 10
Wheaton Case
Boynton, J. (2012). Facilitated Communication—what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator.Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6:1, 3-13. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.674680
Mostert, M. (2012). Facilitated Communication: The empirical imperative to prevent further professional malpractice. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6 (1), 1-10. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.693840
Palfreman, J. (2012) The dark legacy of FC. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6 (1), 14-17. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.688343
Sigafoos, J. and Schlosser, R. (2012) An experiential account of facilitated communication. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6 (1), 1-2. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.710992
Todd , J.T. (2012) The moral obligation to be empirical: Comments on Boynton's “Facilitated Communication—what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator”. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6 (1), 36-57. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.704738
Von Tetzchner, S. (2012) Understanding facilitated communication: Lessons from a former facilitator—Comments on Boynton. Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention, 6 (1), 28-35. DOI: 10.1080/17489539.2012.699729
Vyse, S. (2018). An Artist with a Science-Based Mission. Skeptical Inquirer.
Cramer, Becca. (2025, April 24). How We Dismissed Telepath—and Why It Matters. Medium.
Skeptical Inquirer issue featuring the article Facilitated Communication: Mental Miracle or Mirage?
A Magician Cannot Dispute FC…or Can He?
Randi, James (2017, August). A Magician in the Lab: The Farce Known as ‘FC’. Skeptical Inquirer.
2026 Cover of Skeptical Inquirer featuring the Telepathy Tapes
Beals, Katherine. (2026 September/October). Telepathy Via Facilitated Communication in Profound Autism: A 21st-Century Delusion. Skeptical Inquirer. Volume 50 (5).
Boynton, Janyce (2026 September/October). Debunking the Telepathy Tapes: The Role of Facilitator Behaviors. Skeptical Inquirer. Volume 50 (5).
Hupp, Stephen. (2026 September/October). How the Telepathy Tapes Silences Voices. Skeptical Inquirer. Volume 50 (5).
Maldonado, Michael and Mackey, Malorie. (2026, September/October). The Science Behind the Ouija Board: The Neuropsychological Basis of The Ideomotor Response. Skeptical Inquirer. Volume 50 (5).
Vyse, Stuart. (2026 September/October). The Telepathy Tapes: A Portal into a World of Woo. Skeptical Inquirer. Volume 50 (5).
Rapid Prompting Method
Book Cover of “Strange Son” by Portia Iversen
Reviews of Pro-FC/S2C/RPM books, documentaries, and films are available in the FC in the Media section of our website
Dineen, Janice. (1991, December 21). How autistic Chloe stunned the medical world. Toronto Star: A1.
Honey, Charles. (1991, November 17). I AM MNOT RETARDD Autistic teen breaks a wall of silence with touch of a finger. The Grand Rapids Press: b1.
Macdonald, Sally. (1991, December 25). By typing, son spells love a letter at a time: typing unlocks a trapped mind: ‘I CAN TELL MOM I LOVE HER,’ Salt Lake Tribune: A1.
Skenazy, Lenore. (2022, December 24). How a miracle tool enables severely autistic kids to communicate for the first time. New York Post.
Latest Systematic Review of S2C/RPM
Schlosser, R.W., Shane, H., Bryant, L. et al. Systematic Review of Authorship in Rapid Prompting Method, Spelling to Communicate, and Variants: Outcomes, Significance and Clinical Implications. Rev J Autism Dev Disord (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40489-026-00569-7
Hemsely, Bronwyn, Beals, Katharine, Lang, Russell, Schlossers, Ralf W., Shane, Howard, Simmons, William, Skinner, Sharon, and Todd, James. (2025, October 1): Safeguarding the communication rights of minimally- or non-speaking people who are vulnerable to Facilitated Communication, Rapid Prompting (Spellers Method) and variants, Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Research and Practice in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. DOI: 10.1080/23297018.2025.2544116
Whose Voice Is It? A Family and Professional Guide to Facilitated Communication, Rapid Prompting Method, Spelling to Communicate, and Authorship
https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/guide-to-fcrpms2c-authorship
Voice Questions and Concerns about FC/S2C/RPM
https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/voice-questions-and-concerns-about-fc