SPECTRUM - Parents say the so-called ‘rapid prompting method’ unlocks hidden talents in their minimally verbal autistic children, but researchers question whether the words produced are the child’s own.
For parents, rapid prompting has particular appeal. It holds out the promise that their children are far more intellectually capable than clinicians may have suggested. "The parents are just as much a victim," says Jennifer Hamrick, a special-education expert at Texas Tech University in Lubbock.