Facilitated communication: Rejected in science, accepted in court--A case study and analysis of the use of FC evidence under Frye and Daubert.
Brian J. Gorman; Behavioral Sciences & the Law;

Abstract
This article traces the phenomenon of facilitated communication (FC) from its introduction to the US in 1990 to its use in recent court proceedings. FC is an alleged breakthrough technique that enables nonverbal individuals with developmental disabilities to communicate via a form of assisted typing. Widespread use of FC resulted in miraculous communications and surprising allegations of abuse. The growing importance and notoriety of FC attracted the interest of the scientific community; however, some courts have accepted this unproven technique by evading their state's test of scientific admissibility. It is asserted that court decisions admitting FC evidence are pretextual, and it is argued that FC should not be admitted into court proceedings. In addition, this report analyzes the future of FC in those states that have adopted the newer Daubert standard for scientific evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2004 APA, all rights reserved)

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Science, Ideology, and Facilitated Communication
By: Wayne Sailor

Schiefelbusch Institute for Life Span Studies, University of Kansas

...Parents of autistic children do not need another round of snake oil masquerading as science (of any type). If one recognizes the legitimacy of carefully conducted subjectivistic studies, however, it would seem that the ultimate verdict on facilitated communication is not yet in and that it well may improve communicative opportunities for some autistic persons, under some conditions, at least some of the time...