It got a lot of major press - CNN: “Trapped ‘coma’ man: How was he misdiagnosed?”
However, it appears that he is communicating via “facilitated communication”:
On the other hand, in the CNN article, it says:
So is this guy conscious or not? It sounds like the ‘facilitated communication’ stuff is unlikely to be genuine, but what about the brain scan? It sounds conclusive in the article, but I’ve learned that media reports about scientific matters are often pretty garbled. Also, I wonder if “fully functional” can still be unconscious? When I sleep, my brain is still “fully functional”, isn’t it?
A test would be ridiculously easy to arrange. Repeat a phrase to Houben with his “facilitator” in another room. Then see if he can type it out with her aid.
If his brain is fully functional, he should be able to see. Pick a group of three or four friends, and have one of them go in for a short while in the facilitator’s absence. Then bring the facilitator in and ask “Who was in the room with you?”
Or show him a written phrase and have him repeat it with her help.
Well as someone who was totally Locked In, hence my avatar, I can tell you that I have several friend who were Locked In for over a year before being diagnosed but I have to say this guy looks fishy to me.
Locked In people don’t need a facilitater. They do need to have someone, independent, who will take the time to “translate” their eyeblinks. Theoretically they can communicate with anyone.
I don’t buy it. To be blunt, I think he and his family are being (perhaps inadvertently) used. I’ve known FC was bogus for years. If he is Locked In that makes this one of the cruelest things I’ve ever heard about, because that isn’t him talking and I can’t imagine the frustration he’d be feeling. If he isn’t, then at the least a bunch of people should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for participating in this farce.
I didn’t want to say it straight out when I saw a video of him, blinkie, because I didn’t know if you might know something I didn’t about him. I’ve been following your “Ask The” thread. I know all too well what having a little-understood rare medical issue is like, even though mine isn’t anything like as extreme.
If Rom can only move his toe, which I had not heard before, then the communication is obviously a fraud. I’m sorry to hear if that’s the case. It almost makes me hope he’s not fully conscious rather than being aware of being taken advantage of that way.
Well, I am sure this will be demonstrated one way or another soon. However, it’s quite possible this is true. You can be quite incapable of communicating but still aware on some level. You may be incapable of moving (oartly or totally) or even opening your eyes but still able to hear and semi-interpret what you hear.
The issue, smiling bandit, is not so much whether he’s conscious or not but whether he is the one actually communicating here. The purported method of communication has been discredited for years. If he’s conscious enough to communicate and can do so much as move a toe then he could learn to use some sort of computer system on his own.
If he’s not, then people are seeing what they wish was true. Sad.
Are you talking about Koko, the sign language gorilla?
From what I’ve read, it seems that Koko’s communications are usually requests for food, tickling, and assuring her keeper that she’s been a good gorilla. The kind of thing my dog would tell me if he could talk.
But I just saw a video of him moving his entire torso and arms! The assisting lady walked over to him and it seemed like he had an automatic reaction of scrunching up his body. I can’t seem to find the video now, but I’m 99% sure I saw this.