While these professionals are aware that autistic children are just as likely to be maltreated as normal children, they are often unfamiliar with autism and with FC, and are dependent on the opinions of experts in the field. Because FC has not yet been fully accepted by the clinical and scientific communities, it should not provide the sole basis for allegation of child abuse. Some research, focusing on the communicative competence of autistic children about whom abuse allegations have surfaced through FC, has indicated that the allegations were derived from the facilitators rather than from the children. On the other hand, FC or other communicative aids may enable access to the minority of autistic children with untapped communicative potential. 2 references