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Douglas Biklen

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Douglas Biklen
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)University faculty (retired); fine art photographer
Known forFacilitated Communication(discredited)
SpouseSari Biklen[1]
Academic background
EducationBowdoin College
Alma materSyracuse University
Academic work
DisciplineEducation
Websitebiklenartphotography.com

Douglas Paul Biklen(born September 8, 1945) is an Americaneducator,fine art photographer, leading proponent offacilitated communication,a scientifically discredited technique which purports to allow non-verbal people (particularly those on theautismspectrum) to communicate;[2][3][4][5][6][7]and an advocate of educationalinclusion.A graduate ofBowdoin College,Biklen joinedSyracuse Universityin 1969 and completed hisdoctoratethere in 1973. He was controversially appointed Dean of theSyracuse University School of Educationin 2005 and retired in 2014. Biklen has authored and co-authored several books and served on production teams for several documentary films, including 2004'sAutism Is a World.

Career

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Biklen served in thePeace CorpsinSierra Leoneduring the 1960s,[8]graduated from Bowdoin College in 1967[1][9]and received aDoctor of Philosophyfrom Syracuse in 1973[10]where he researched intellectual disabilities in individuals in state-run mental hospitals and schools.[11]Upon completion of his doctorate, Biklen became professor at the Syracuse University the School of Education’s Cultural Foundations, Teaching, and Leadership programs.[1]

At Syracuse, Biklen founded the Institute on Communication and Inclusion;[6][2][7][12]and was a member of the founding faculty at the Center on Human Policy[13][12].In August 2005, Biklen was appointed Dean of the School of Education,[12]a move that was criticized by the Commission for Scientific Medicine and Mental Health[6]and by members of thespecial educationresearch community.[14]He retired at the end of 2014.[12]

Biklen is a proponent of educationalinclusionfor students with intellectual disabilities.[11]

Facilitated communication

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Main article:Facilitated communication

Inception

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During observations ofRosemary CrossleyinMelbourne,Australiain 1989, Biklen learned about the practice offacilitated communication.He returned to the United States and introduced the practice to USspeechlanguage pathologistsandspecial educators.[7]

According to the theory, some individuals whose communication is hindered bydevelopmental coordination disorder(DCD) can communicate with the aid of a facilitator, who supports the client's hand while the client types words on a keyboard.[5]Biklen and other advocates claim that individuals with DCD have a sophisticated understanding of spoken and written language, but verbal or motor difficulties prevent them from speaking or typing without assistance.[7]

Debunking

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Studies have repeatedly found that the messages produced through facilitated communication are authored by the facilitator rather than the client.[15][3][4][16]In all controlled studies where clients and facilitators are given different information (shown two different objects, for example) what is typed responds to what is seen by the facilitator, not the client.

In 1994 the American Psychological Association passed a resolution declaring that "facilitated communication is a controversial and unproved communicative procedure with no scientifically demonstrated support for its efficacy."[7]Critics point out that despite its purportedly inclusive intentions, Biklen's technique undermines educational accessibility as it diverts focus from scientifically proven techniques that could effectively help individuals with DCD to communicate.[17]

Film productions

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Biklen co-produced the 2004 filmAutism Is a World,directed by Geraldine Wurzburg. It was nominated for anAcademy Award for Documentary Short Subject,but its positive portrayal of facilitated communication was criticized by autism researchers.[7]Gina Green ofSan Diego State Universitystated that making a film without "even a hint, much less a disclosure" of the evidence against facilitated communication "is appalling".[7]Biklen also produced the filmMy Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry BissonnetteatSyracuse University.[12]

Biklen was an executive producer of the documentaryRegular LivesonPBS(1988) and was educational advisor to the HBO documentaryEducating Peterand its sequel,Graduating Peter.[12]

Personal life

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Biklen lives inOrwell, Vermontwith his wife, Sari.[1]He is a fine art photographer whose work has been shown throughout Vermont; in the Syracuse, New York area; and in Melbourne, Australia.[8]

Books

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  • Biklen, D. (1985).Achieving the Complete School: Strategies for Effective Mainstreaming.Teachers College Press.
  • ––(1992).Schooling Without Labels: Parents, Educators, and Inclusive Education.Temple University Press.
  • ––(1993).Communication Unbound: How Facilitated Communication is Challenging Traditional Values of Autism and Ability/Disability.Teachers College Press.
  • Biklen, D., & Cardinal, D. N. (1999).Contested words, contested science: Unraveling the facilitated communication controversy.NetLibrary, Inc.
  • Kluth, P., Straut, D. M., & Biklen, D. P. (2003).Access to academics for all students: Critical approaches to inclusive curriculum, instruction, and policy.Taylor and Francis.

References

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  1. ^abcdVan Wert, Laura (2005)."Biklen appointed education dean".The Daily Orange.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2021.Retrieved3 December2021.
  2. ^abThe Daily Orange Editorial Board (12 April 2016)."Syracuse University's reinforcement of facilitated communication inexcusable, concerning".The Daily Orange.Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2021.Retrieved1 December2021.
  3. ^abTodd, James T. (13 July 2012). "The moral obligation to be empirical: Comments on Boynton's 'Facilitated Communication – what harm it can do: Confessions of a former facilitator'".Evidence-Based Communication Assessment and Intervention.6(1): 36–57.doi:10.1080/17489539.2012.704738.S2CID143043194.
  4. ^abJacobson, John W.; Mulick, James A.; Schwartz, Allen A. (September 1995). "A History of Facilitated Communication: Science, Pseudoscience, and Antiscience: Science Working Group on Facilitated Communication".American Psychologist.50(9): 750–765.doi:10.1037/0003-066x.50.9.750.
  5. ^ab"Facilitated Communication: Sifting the Psychological Wheat from the Chaff".American Psychological Association.20 November 2003. Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2021.Retrieved1 December2021.
  6. ^abcRiggott, Julie."Pseudoscience in Autism Treatment: Are the News and Entertainment Media Helping or Hurting?".Scientific Review of Mental Health Practice.Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2013.Retrieved1 December2021.
  7. ^abcdefgMann, Lisa Barrett (February 22, 2005)."Oscar Nominee: Documentary or Fiction?".The Washington Post.Retrieved1 December2021.
  8. ^ab"Biography".Douglas Biklen Art Photography.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2021.Retrieved3 December2021.
  9. ^"Alumni Award Recipients".Bowdoin.edu.Archived fromthe originalon 3 December 2021.Retrieved3 December2021.
  10. ^"Douglas Biklen".Syracuse University School of Education.Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2021.Retrieved1 December2021.
  11. ^ab"Douglas Biklen:" Begin by presuming competence "".UNESCO.24 February 2012. Archived fromthe originalon 2 December 2021.Retrieved2 December2021.
  12. ^abcdef"School of Education's Douglas Biklen Announces Retirement from Deanship".Syracuse University News.20 February 2013. Archived fromthe originalon 1 December 2021.Retrieved1 December2021.
  13. ^"Response to CQC Solicitation of Interest"(PDF).Center for Disability Rights.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 3 December 2021.Retrieved3 December2021.
  14. ^"Dismay over Syracuse Appointment of Dean".SpedPro.Archived fromthe originalon 2007-03-11.Retrieved2005-11-04.
  15. ^Emory Health Sciences (26 February 2015)."Why debunked autism treatment fads persist".ScienceDaily.Archived fromthe originalon 24 April 2016.Retrieved1 December2021.
  16. ^Hall, Genae A. (1993)."Facilitator Control as Automatic Behavior: A Verbal Behavior Analysis".The Analysis of Verbal Behavior.11:89–97.doi:10.1007/bf03392890.PMC2748555.PMID22477083.
  17. ^Beals, Katharine (2021). "Book Review: Biklen, D. (2005). Autism and the myth of the person alone".Research on Social Work Practice:1–5.doi:10.1177/10497315211003952.S2CID233228576.
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