a similar effect, but to a much lesser degree and only for individuals with IQs less than 85 on the Wechsler scales. Facilitated communication Facilitated communication (FC) is a scientifically discredited technique that attempts to facilitate communication by people with severe educational and communication disabilities. The facilitator holds or gently touches the disabled person's arm or hand during this process and attempts to help them move to type on a special keyboard. It was used by many hopeful parents of individuals with autism when it was first introduced during the early 1990s by Douglas Biklen, a professor at Syracuse University. There is widespread agreement within the scientific community and multiple disability advocacy organizations that FC is not a valid technique for authentically augmenting the communication skills of those with autism spectrum disorder. Instead, research indicates that the facilitator is the source of the messages obtained through FC (involving ideomotor effect guidance of the arm of the patient by the facilitator). Thus, studies have consistently found that patients are unable to provide the correct response to even simple questions when the facilitator does not know the answers to the questions (e.g., showing the patient but not the facilitator an object). In addition, numerous cases have been reported by investigators in which disabled persons were assumed by facilitators to be typing a coherent message while the patient's eyes were closed or while they were looking away from or showing no particular interest in the letter board. Despite the evidence opposing FC, many continue to use and promote this technique. Note that facilitated communication is separate and different from a range of scientifically supported augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices and processes that facilitate communication for people with communication difficulties. Advocacy initiatives There are two major conceptualizations of autism within autism advocacy. Those who favour the pathology paradigm, which aligns with the medical model of disability, see autism as a disorder to be treated or cured. Those who favor the pathology paradigm argue that atypical behaviors of autistic individuals are detrimental and should therefore be reduced or eliminated through behavior modification therapies. Their advocacy efforts focus primarily on medical research to identify genetic and environmental risk factors in autism. Those who favour the neurodiversity paradigm, which aligns with the social model of disability, see autism as a naturally-occurring variation in the brain. Neurodiversity advocates argue that efforts to eliminate autism should not be