Comments on: A Silent Hell: For 23 Years, Man Was Misdiagnosed as a Coma Patient

By: Angie

Angie — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 17:55:38 +0000

How about a little bit of common sense combined with humanity? Certainly parlayzed people need help in order to be able to communicate with the outside world. How do you prove it? Do you have to prove everything to know for sure? Give him a chance! All efforts of support concerning his communication with the rest of the world will help scientists to reveal more about possible ways of communicating with paralayzed patients in the future. I wonder when they will find the first woman, who also suffers from that kind of wrong diagnosis and actually do something about it (as the first man with this specific issue was discovered not so long ago and is being helped).

By: Jumblepudding

Jumblepudding — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 19:03:38 +0000

After seeing this on CNN and elsewhere online, I feel really let down that the reality of his supposed “communication” is so suspect.

By: Johnny Costello

Johnny Costello — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:48:58 +0000

randi is an A.H.

By: Big Tuna

Big Tuna — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:48:56 +0000

Why not try to arouse him by talking sexy to him? A little hot breathe in his ear should make noticeable blooms appear, at least on a brainscan. There are other things you could do, but they would be too invasive. If you did that you’d suck.

By: Rob

Rob — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 09:05:08 +0000

In the video report at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=5759694n&tag=related;
photovideo 1:17 in you hear the clear and steady tap-tap-tap-tap of “his” typing while his eyes aren’t even open.

By: Jeremy Bolt

Jeremy Bolt — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 03:52:23 +0000

Well can he move? Or does he just communicate through that device….

By: Bob Snyder

Bob Snyder — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:42:26 +0000

I think Stat’s suggestion would be the easiest way to figure out whether this person is truly communicating or not.

On a side note, he seems to type remarkably fast for someone in his condition.

The real story here is the possibility of being trapped in your own body. Regardless of whether or not the man is communicating, it would be a tragedy if he was truly conscious with no way to communicate to the outside world.

By: Brian Too

Brian Too — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 00:08:59 +0000

My understanding was that Facilitated Communication was completely discredited in a proper double blind study 10 or more years ago. There was a show, Front Line (?) that covered the matter.

If that’s the ‘communication’ that Mr. Houben is engaging in, then he’s not communicating and he may in fact be in a coma.

By: Auri

Auri — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:14:35 +0000

After hearing the teaser bit about this story, I was curious – but after seeing the clip on CNN where you can see the “facilitated communication” I started to wonder. On checking Google News and doing a sub-search on Skeptic OR Skeptical OR fraud on the 1000+ articles (as reported by G), only 2 (yes two) came up!

So here’s a very simple test to explore the veracity of these claims.

Preparation:
2 facilitators
- Preferably one who does not speak Flemish
- Not hired by the family (someone who has not been contacted by the family)

Process:
Allow 1 facilitator into the room (while the other is in another room without ANY communications.)

Ask the patient one or two password recovery type questions (what was your first pet/school/car etc.) that is not common knowledge. Or a question about a personal preference (What food item do you most yearn for / favorite music band etc.)

Then switch to the other facilitator.

Compare answers.

————

Regardless of the above, my best wishes to the patient and his family/neighbors. It takes a lot of determination and caring to look after someone for over 2 decades – and that part of the story itself should inspire us to examine how we care for people (with normal faculties) around us.

… Auri.
http://Art-of-Innovation.com
SF Bay Area, CA

By: Stat

Stat — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 20:49:40 +0000

The video shows”Facilitated Communication” and this is a fraud. It is a cruel hoax on the mother and the world.
It may be the patient has some voluntary consciousness, but this could be determined through eye-blinks and other established techniques.

A simple blind trial (showing the patient an object with the “communicator” out of the room) will demonstrate that is just a high tech ouija board.

The nurse and doctor may not be criminally fraudulent, but they are deluded.