Facilitated communication

It is the position of the RCSLT that Facilitated Communication is a discredited technique that should not be used in any circumstance

What is Facilitated Communication?  

Facilitated Communication is a technique that aims to help a person to communicate, through a ‘facilitator’ giving them physical support to point to letters, pictures, or objects on a keyboard or other device. It may be referred to by other names, such as ‘Assisted Typing’ or ‘Supported Typing’.  

Scientific studies have questioned the approach, particularly whether the ‘facilitator’ is actually responsible for the messages communicated. Systematic reviews of this evidence have concluded that there is no reliable evidence that messages delivered using the technique are authored by the person they are aiming to support (Schlosser et al, 2014; Hemsley et al, 2018).  

A more recent approach, Rapid Prompting Method, also relies on another person, but in this case, the facilitator physically holds a letter board and provides physical/verbal prompts to guide pointing. A systematic review of the evidence, which highlighted the similarities between Rapid Prompting Method and Facilitated Communication, found no scientific studies that met its criteria and that provide evidence of the effectiveness of the approach (Schossler et al, 2019).   

Researchers have highlighted a number of other ‘variants’ of Facilitated Communication and Rapid Prompting Method, such as ‘Spelling to Communicate’ and ‘Spellers’ (Hemsley et al, 2025).  

These practices should not be confused with evidence-based interventions and support for alternative and augmentative communication (AAC). The American Speech-Language Hearing Association (ASHA) provides a useful table comparing Facilitated Communication, Rapid Prompting Method and AAC.  

What guidance is there about Facilitated Communication? 

UK guidance 

Two key UK clinical guidelines include recommendations that Facilitated Communication should not be used for supporting autistic people. In their supporting information, these guidelines refer to evidence of harm, as well as the lack of evidence for effectiveness: 

NICE Clinical Guideline CG142 Autism spectrum disorder in adults: diagnosis and management

  • 1.4.3 Do not provide facilitated communication for autistic adults 

SIGN Guideline 145 Assessment, diagnosis and interventions for autism spectrum disorders

  • 6.3.8 Facilitated communication should not be used as a means to communicate with children and young people with ASD 
  • 7.2 Facilitated communication should not be used as a means to communicate with adults with ASD  

 

Statements from international organisations 

A number of professional bodies and other organisations internationally have issued position statements affirming that Facilitated Communication and related methods lack scientific validity and should not be used. 

 

 

Having considered the evidence, it is the position of the RCSLT that Facilitated Communication is a discredited technique that should not be used in any circumstance.  

 

 

The RCSLT provides guidance for members on: 

References