A while back I expressed scepticism concerning a Toronto child with autism who, it was claimed, displayed a highly articulate ability to communicate through a keyboard.
Some recent stuff suggests my scepticism may have been unwarranted. See the article in The New York Times (Feb 28) at http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/the-language-of-autism/ Play the video. It's about 8 minutes long. For the first four, we get only a display of her ritualized repetitive motor behaviours. Hang in there. Then we get to what she has to say. Next, check out the article at Wired. There's a link to it in the article or go here: http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/magazine/16-03/ff_autism Taken together, these reports suggest an extraordinary new conception of the nature of autism. Still, I have questions and caveats. -We still need documentation that these individuals were independently diagnosed as autistic, and that their current amazing ability to communicate through autism is produced by them alone, without help (which is what is claimed) -We need to know how common such cases are. Are these people extremely rare individuals, as for example, autistic individuals with extraordinary drawing ability (such as the case of Nadia)? Or is the claim that most or, at least, many, autistic individuals are capable of such communication if given access to a keyboard? I'd certainly like to hear from eminent experts in the field on this development--Ivar Lovaas, for example, and Simon Baron-Cohen. Still, I'm beginning to feel that these claims can no longer be dismissed and deserve a closer look. Stephen ----------------------------------------------------------------- Stephen L. Black, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology, Emeritus Bishop's University e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] 2600 College St. Sherbrooke QC J1M 1Z7 Canada Subscribe to discussion list (TIPS) for the teaching of psychology at http://flightline.highline.edu/sfrantz/tips/ ----------------------------------------------------------------------- --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
