Today, I am expanding on my blog post about The Telepathy Tapes. Please find the original blog post on my website: www.synergyautismcenter.com
Ky Dickens actually seems in support of autistic spellers and keyboarders. The podcast, however, is about telepathy. It is not about whether or not autistics can use augmented means to communicate like using a keyboard or letter board. My concerns are squarely on the fact that autistics should not be used to prove telepathy when their communication using these augmented means is already under fire by so many. I worry (and it has been confirmed) that speech language pathologists and others who criticize the use of letter boards and/or keyboards to communicate now have additional fodder to weaken the legitimacy of autistics communicating in these ways.
My concerns were recently confirmed when I joined a respected speech and language pathologist “watch party” where we all watched the actual videos of the autistics on the podcast communicating their telepathy. As the videos were played, the argument was NOT on whether they were telepathic but on whether or not they were even communicating. The majority of the participants were arguing that they were not actually communicating anything let alone telepathy. I very pointedly argued that the tapes were NOT to prove communication but to prove telepathy. Therefore, they should not be under fire for whether or not they were communicating. While they did shift their conversation and agreed with me, my point was made in that setting and not in so many more conversations. People across the world listening will now question the legitimacy of a vulnerable population communicating through means that are already questionable and in dire need of further research.
Next, I spoke with a friend who is autistic and a magician. He turned my attention to James Randi, The Amazing Randi, who was a magician who turned his work to people using “magic” to trick people into believing they are telepathic, speaking to God, the deceased, etc. and getting money for it. He thought it was tragic and criminal, of course. My friend (Jonathan Chase, if you know him) helped me consider that one of the many ways to “trick” people is to use a vulnerable population in their providing “proof." Because then if you voice your doubt, you are speaking against a vulnerable population - which we just wouldn’t think of doing, right!? ugh.
I never intended to imply that Ky Dickens was against Autistic people using Spelling and Keyboards to communicate. In fact, she seems to be in support of it. The podcast's focus is on telepathy, not on whether Autistic people can use these tools to communicate.
