HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has appointed proponents and users of Spelling to Communicate—a discredited variant of facilitated communication—to the federal government's top autism advisory panel. Stuart Vyse argues that endorsing these scientifically debunked methods promotes pseudoscience, offers false hope to families, and undermines evidence-based support for people with autism.

Read this article and find accompanying references at:

https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/rfk-jr-puts-facilitated-communication-users-on-the-hhs-autism-panel/

About the Author:

Stuart Vyse is a psychologist and author of Believing in Magic: The Psychology of Superstition, which won the William James Book Award of the American Psychological Association. He is also author of Going Broke: Why Americans Can't Hold on to Their Money. As an expert on irrational behavior, he is frequently quoted in the press and has made appearances on CNN International, the PBS NewsHour, and NPR's Science Friday. He can be found on Twitter at @stuartvyse.

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