Debunked!

Now the NY Times has allowed Dr. Lutz to post a thank you on their Facebook page, reigniting the frenzy on both sides.  

(What is better for a news media outlet than a heated, emotional controversy like this?  I would be willing to bet they have seen a marked jump in site visits and Facebook posts over this past week.  I reckon the only thing better for them is bad weather and bad viruses.)

Anyway, more of my thoughts for your enjoyment.

It is amazing to me that those who scream the word science the loudest are almost always the least scientific.  Science is a process of logic, and it seems clear that logic is not the strongest faculty in the opponents of typing/spelling.  

Rhetoric is NOT science.

So here is the question of the day:  how can something be “debunked” when scientific studies like Dr. Jaswal’s eye-tracking study are being published in major journals?   And who exactly is the authority to declare when something is debunked?  Is there an official Department of Debunking? Spelling/typing is not debunked according to Dr. Jaswal, a researcher at the University of Virginia.  It’s not debunked at Harvard, where recently an eye tracking study was conducted, I believe.  It’s not debunked according to Dr. Barry Prizant, probably the most famous speech pathologist in the country.  In other words - major authority figures in science say it is an area of legitimate study. 

So who says it’s debunked? 

The word “debunked” is a rhetorical catch phrase, but in actuality, it is 100% meaningless.  It sounds great - so authoritative.  So perhaps we believers of typing/spelling should remember that the best defense is a good offense:  I officially declare that the arguments against typing/spelling for communication are debunked!  

I have as much authority to declare that, pounding my virtual fist upon the table, as any other nonscientist.  

So let’s get back to science.  As I pointed out in my previous post, all science starts with an observation.  We observe our children typing, and they are typing things we cannot predict. How can something that is clearly working be not working?  Since I know it works - as I do it all day every day - I will formulate my hypothesis:  typing/spelling works to give nonspeakers a voice.  I think I have proven that hypothesis, so let’s move on to the remaining questions we have yet to answer.

No one on our side of the debate says that there are no questions.  We all KNOW there are questions surrounding this:  why  exactly do we need to hold the board?  Why is it so hard for our guys to type without a CP?  What exactly is the CP providing that allows them to overcome their inherent disability?  Why is message passing hard under testing circumstances?  How can we better make this skill fully independent for our children?  Are there better ways to teach this?  Etc.  We beg scientists to help us because there is nothing more that we all want - parents, friends, professionals, and most of all, the nonspeakers themselves - than to see all of them independent!  

Thus far, we are crying in the wilderness.  What answers has science given us?  In my 30 years in autism (Alex was diagnosed at 1:00 pm on March 22, 1996…but who’s counting), what solutions have we been given?  

That’d be a big, fat NOTHING.

Anyway, back to my discussion of logic…

When I was 17, my 16 year old cousin - whom I dearly loved and forever miss - passed away.  The day of her funeral, I hid in the bushes outside my aunt and uncle’s house, crying hysterically. My big brother found me and sat down to talk.  “There is no god!” I said, grief stricken.  “Well, Judy,” he said thinking for a moment, “People a lot smarter than you believe in god, so maybe you should maintain an open mind.” 

Every time I find myself becoming definitive, I take myself down a peg or two, reminding myself that there is a possibility - even if it’s very small - that I may be wrong…especially if someone really intelligent disagrees with me. I looked into typing/spelling finally because my very, VERY brilliant friend, Ginnie, told me it was real.  I didn’t believe a blessed word but…hey…there was a chance I was wrong.  

And of course, it turned out I wasn’t just wrong.  I was WRONG. 

And you know what?  I survived.  My head didn’t explode or anything!  I lived to tell the tale of my wrongness. 

Oh, wait!  I got it!  I debunked my own belief that spelling was nonsense!