Facilitated communication (FC) remains controversial and continues to have more detractors than enthusiasts. Yet this fascinating energetic relationship between the facilitator and the nonverbal autistic person is a mysterious, misunderstood connection that has benefits beyond mere communication. FC is a complicated process with many interesting components that demand open dialogue and further investigation. As a seasoned facilitator and energy worker with a deep interest in and appreciation for the autistic individuals I work with, I want to generate much more interest in the open discussion and study of this anomaly.
In FC, the facilitator provides hand or arm support to the nonverbal autistic person as he types. Once provided with this support, the autistic individual suddenly demonstrates previously unseen areas of competence. It is a startling phenomenon that leaves both parents and caregivers spellbound. Most proponents of the process suggest that the facilitator provides both motor and emotional support. They insist that the information being typed is coming solely from the typist himself. By contrast, detractors say that the information is coming from the facilitator, who unknowingly moves the typist’s hand to the appropriate letters. On the other hand, when the typist strikes the keys without physical support, many consider him to be doing so independently. Neither proponents nor detractors of the process address the fact that the facilitator is still sitting next to the person typing, usually with an intense focus on the keyboard, and that without the facilitator’s presence and focus, the typist loses his train of thought. The question is: why is the facilitator’s presence and focus necessary? How does it help the typist maintain his train of thought? Some suggest that it has to do with emotional support. I do not pretend to know why it helps, but I do know that it should not be ignored.
My theory is that FC has an energetic component. I suggest that the typist synchronizes his brainwave rhythms with those of the facilitator. As he does this, the typist appears to become more balanced, organized and grounded than he was before establishing a resonance. The relationship can be compared to coupled oscillators, which begin moving in unison after a certain amount of time. A different analogy is that of binaural beats, two separate sounds that form a new frequency produced from the combination of the two. An EEG hookup between the facilitator and typist could prove if this hypothesis has merit.
I also suggest that the dynamic link between the facilitator and typist is similar to that which occurs between an energy healer and patient. The healer emanates a high vibration. In response, the patient raises his own vibrational frequency to match the healer’s and in the process heals himself. In facilitation, I feel the typist and facilitator are also matching vibrational frequencies. But in this case, I suspect that it’s the typist who is lowering his frequency to meet or blend with the facilitator’s brainwave and body rhythms. In doing so, he both establishes and amplifies a telepathic resonance.
This synchronization of brain waves and bodily rhythms would explain the changes in focus and behavior of the nonverbal typist engaged in FC. Establishing a telepathic resonance is a vital part of the process. Once the typist and facilitator synchronize, the facilitator can encourage the connection by systematically slowing down his brain waves and bodily rhythms. The facilitator’s relaxed, compassionate intention and focus support the typist in producing longer, slower brain waves, closer to the earth’s vibration.
For example, I had lunch today with a severely autistic friend who was very excitable and disorganized. As we sat down at the table in the restaurant, she began to screech and throw her arms around. I sat across from her and encouraged her to put her feet on top of mine. In the process, we formed a resonance. I did this by initially matching her excitement and then lowering my energy by making my mind go blank and just feeling calming energy waves cascading down my spine. Within a few minutes, she was calm, balanced and organized enough to eat. If she had not responded, I would have taken her for a walk. The purpose would have been be to get her back in sync with my brain waves and body rhythm so she could relax. When asked about the process, she typed the following, with facilitated support: “It helps me feel very grounded and safe, like head is more connected to my body.”
The so-called independent autistic typist needs a more energetic focus than the one who is given physical assistance. The facilitator’s focus allows the typist’s brain waves to slow down. Because of this synchronizing effect, the disorganized system of the typist becomes balanced. This energetic relationship and syncing of brain waves can support multiple areas of learning, not just dialogue. Motor planning activities and adaptive daily living skills can be more effectively learned when the facilitator and the unorganized system of the autistic person align. The autistic person feels safer and more balanced, grounded and protected by his partner than he does when he is energetically on his own.
Dr. John Zimmerman, founder and president of the former Bio-Electro-Magnetics Institute in Reno, Nevada, was cited in Life Technology News (2008) as reporting that spiritual, psychic and energy healers of all types worldwide usually connect with the Schumann Resonance, or 7.8-8 Hz alpha rhythm. The right and left hemispheres of their brains are therefore balanced. During the process of healing, the patient’s brain waves also go into alpha and are phase-synchronized with the healer’s balanced brain waves, thereby linking the patient with the pulses of the earth’s magnetic field.
I suggest that the facilitator, like the spiritual, psychic or energy healer, may also be connecting with the Schumann Resonance. By matching the facilitator’s brainwave frequency, the typist likewise goes into the alpha state, which assists him in balancing the right and left hemispheres of his brain. The facilitator grounds the typist by linking him to the magnetic field of the earth’s vibration, which in turn makes him more comfortable. This process can be encouraged through taking walks in nature, spending time at the beach or listening to ocean waves, other sounds from nature or recordings of the Schumann Resonance. All these grounding activities help produce longer, slower brainwave patterns.
Both belief in the process and actual aptitude differ among facilitators with regard to their couplings with typists. This is evident in the fact that the communicative output between different facilitators and the same typist can differ.
In Life Technology News (2008), researcher Maxwell Cade discovered while using a computerized EEG power spectrum analyzer that unique complex brainwave patterns found only in advanced spiritual and energy healers became prominent in the brain waves of patients during the healing process.
It is my belief that facilitators may be receiving these complex brain wave patterns from the typist once they have learned to remove their mental limitations and truly listen. In my own experience, these complex wave patterns have resulted in enhanced spiritual and interdimensional communication and perception. In other words, the facilitator’s perspective begins to expand through close contact and telepathic merging with the autistic individual. This aligning with complex wave patterns differs from using FC to slow down the autistic person’s brain waves in order to increase his bodily balance. Both are significant and can be practiced either by themselves or simultaneously depending on the facilitator’s interest, understanding and aptitude. Perhaps these complex brain waves could be identified by the above-mentioned EEG power spectrum analyzer, thereby helping us to understand the frequently reported mystical aspects of the FC process.
The extent of the typist’s ability to communicate is dependent on the facilitator’s knowledge base and vocabulary. For example, by pairing the typist with a good facilitator who is also a mathematician, the typist would be likely to manifest competence in mathematics. On the other hand, when paired with a facilitator with limited mathematical understanding, the typist is unable to perform at the same mathematical level. Does this imply that the facilitator’s lack of knowledge creates a handicap? And does this interference affect the synchronization of brain waves and prevent the typist from continuing? An EEG of both the facilitator and the typist could help us understand the effect of interference.
During FC, the typist can be very suggestible. The facilitator needs to be aware of this possibility and treat sensitive information accordingly.
I have barely touched on the energetics of FC. Rapid Prompting Method (RPM) and facilitated communication share the same telepathic and energetic component. With regard to this, there is much to dissect and explore on a deeper level. Until then, I suggest that the facilitator listen intently, focus on the task at hand, expect competence from the autistic individual, let go of limiting beliefs, and in the process watch the person he is serving become happier and more balanced. It is best to not worry about the source of the communication, meaning whether the information is being accessed from the facilitator or the autistic partner. That varies and changes for a multitude of reasons, and it’s this that desperately needs more open dialogue and study.
Life Technology™ News. (2008). Retrieved from http://lifetechnologynews.blogspot.com/2008/08/healing-technologies.html
