Thoughts on Communication

This article I have written on Facilitated Communication was published in the journal "Allergy Induced Autism"  and in the magazine "In Touch" - Read The Article.

Rosemary Crossley pioneered Facilitated Communication Training . Click here to see Rosemary facilitating with Josh.

Josh was assessed by Marilyn Chadwick of the Facilitated Communication Institute of Syracuse University, New York. She continues to help and advise  via Skype consultations which help us adopt  a holistic approach to Josh's communication strategies.

The most important thing is that I am able to communicate with the world and with my friends. I am really grateful for giving me the chance I want and feel all autistic people deserve.

I would like to talk about Facilitated Communication.  It is a brilliant form of communication, because it gives people who do not talk the ability to do so. I began using Facilitated communication five years ago. My personal assistants support my arm but it is only me that does the actual typing. I have used this form of communication to publish articles in newspapers and making my DVDs.
 

I have a number of friends who use Facilitated Communication. Click here to watch a video of Josh facilitating with a close friend.

Joshua's Communication Ladder

This list represents Josh's particular path to speech (many other communication options are available):
 

	Talk Tools Therapy Using different whistles, straws, blow tubes and biting blocks has helped Joshua to overcome some of his oral dyspraxic issues. www.eg-training.co.uk
	Pointing  Pointing is a simple way to communicate. Even a "yes" or "No" can made a huge difference to the quality of a person's life.
	Communication Boards Once pointing is established, the world of communication boards and books is available to you. Joshua and his PA's have modified one communication board for use in Hebrew and another in Russian, both of which are available for sale by emailing us via the contact form.
	iPAD    Josh uses his iPad as a communication aid (speak it), as an educational resource, for university work and entertainment.
	Canon Communicator This device enables your message to be recorded on a tape feed out.
	Alpha Smart This is a portable, battery powered, word processing keyboard.
	Big Keys LX Has 60 large, chunky keys. It is available in a wide range of colours and layouts, with qwerty or abc layouts too. The keys help the user to recognise when they have been pressed with a nice distinct click and will not keep repeating a letter if held down. Keyguards and a glove are also available.
	LightWriter The lightwriter speaks the typed words. There is a choice of voice, be it male or female, together with different intonations plus the option of printing and /or storing the text. Click here for the link to the Toby Churchill website. Click here to see it up close.
	Go Talk One Spoken words or phrases can be recorded by Josh and played back at the press of a button.
	Speech No words can express the liberation spontaneous verbal language provides.