There’s a moment, 26 minutes and nine seconds into Disney’s Coco, where the film’s departed souls try to clear a customs desk in the afterlife. Mary* can visualise the scene perfectly—no screen needed. Her sons, Ryder* and Murphy*, have watched the film more than a thousand times.
“They absolutely love credits,” she laughs, describing how her children, pretzels in hand, remain transfixed through the final moments of the film.
Both boys have been diagnosed with “non-verbal autism-spectrum disorder level three”—a diagnosis that requires a high level of daily support. Now six and four, they have never spoken a word to their parents. Mary says the inability to communicate with them is both painful and isolating.
“What I deal with on a daily basis,” she says, pausing, “it can break you.”
A Mother’s Daily Struggle
For six years, Mary’s life has revolved around caring for her boys. Even when her mother died in an ICU in Sydney, Mary had to return home just hours after saying goodbye, unable to grieve fully. She removed photos of her mother from the house—trying to explain why she no longer appeared on FaceTime but still hung in a frame was simply too hard.
READ MORE: Crafty Robot Uses Wings to Hop Where Others Fear to Tread
Mary speaks of the fear and judgment that come with everyday outings. In shopping centres or parks, overstimulation leads to meltdowns. Her arms and legs are often bruised from shielding her sons from self-harm. The sleep deprivation is unrelenting. Studies show that stress levels in parents of autistic children rival those of combat veterans or Holocaust survivors.
This is Mary’s reality, shared by countless families around the world. It is into this world that the podcast The Telepathy Tapes enters—promising connection, communication, and even hope.
The Rise of The Telepathy Tapes
The Telepathy Tapes, a 10-part podcast, soared to the top of Apple and Spotify charts in late 2024. The show claims that non-speaking autistic children might be able to communicate via telepathy and possess “otherworldly perceptions.”
For parents of non-verbal children, it may sound like a miracle. For Mary, it was horrifying.
“For something like this to exist is devastating and alarming,” she says.
While two of the seven parents interviewed by Guardian Australia were intrigued by the show’s premise, researchers were unanimous in their criticism.
Discredited Science, Repackaged
The podcast’s host, US filmmaker Ky Dickens, works alongside psychiatrist Diane Hennacy Powell, a known advocate of psychic phenomena. The series showcases children such as Mia, a 12-year-old from Mexico, who allegedly “reads minds” by typing blindfolded on a letter board.
Powell presents these feats as evidence of telepathy. But researchers say what’s really being shown is “facilitated communication” (FC), a widely debunked practice from the 1990s, now rebadged under names like Spelling to Communicate (S2C) and Rapid Prompting Method (RPM).
FC has been condemned by health organisations globally. The American Psychological Association labelled it “unproven” in 1994. The UK’s NICE guidance warns against offering FC to parents. In Australia, Raising Children—a government-backed resource—calls it “ineffective or harmful.”
“There’s no strong evidence or rigorous, double-blinded checks that it is the person’s true communication,” says Dr Jessica Paynter of Griffith University.
Studies consistently show that it is often the facilitator—not the autistic individual—who influences or outright authors the responses. Even in The Telepathy Tapes, facilitators are seen physically supporting or holding the child’s chin while typing.
Hope or Harm?
Dickens argues that modern techniques differ from outdated FC methods, claiming that many spellers now type independently. But experts remain skeptical.
“Programs like The Telepathy Tapes steal time, attention and energy away from what truly matters—valuing children and families as they are,” says Prof Andrew Whitehouse of the Kids Research Institute.
David Trembath, a professor of speech pathology at Griffith University, agrees. He believes the same outcomes proponents of FC claim can be achieved through safer, evidence-based methods—without risking harm to children or undermining their rights.
Desperation Makes Parents Vulnerable
For Mary and others like her, the allure of connection is powerful—sometimes overwhelmingly so. That makes them especially vulnerable to pseudoscientific solutions.
“Parents often live in a perpetual state of exhaustion and are easy prey for people who promise the world,” say Joe and Paige*, parents to a profoundly autistic son.
Howard Shane, a veteran clinician from Boston Children’s Hospital, says FC has shown an unusual persistence across decades of autism “fads.” From essential oils to dolphin therapy to magnets, autism has long been targeted by unsupported interventions.
“I think we’ve come to the height of it with The Telepathy Tapes,” Shane says.
A Divisive Conversation
Some parents who use FC methods have accused critics of being ableist or lacking lived experience. Two parents interviewed by The Guardian said those attacking FC had “financial incentives” to discredit it. But experts disagree.
“There’s more than enough work for everyone,” says Paynter. “If something worked, we’d all want to use it.”
She notes that most clinicians would eagerly embrace any method that genuinely helps children communicate.
“All of us working in the field, we want to do anything that could help autistic children to communicate, to self-advocate and to have their needs met.”
Dickens Responds
Dickens maintains that The Telepathy Tapes seeks to “centre autistic voices” and challenge preconceptions.
“Many of these families have gained resources—hope, connection and joy—through spelling. We should ask why that’s happening,” she says.
She also acknowledges speaking to scientists and sceptics, though some declined to be interviewed on record.
“To me, recognising someone’s full personhood means being open to their version of the truth, even if it disrupts our assumptions.”
What Truly Matters
There is no single cause or treatment for autism. Every child is different, and every journey is complex. What unites both parents who embrace spelling and those who rely on evidence-based approaches is a desire to help their children communicate, advocate, and thrive.
Whether or not they believe in the promise of telepathy, these families remain constant in their devotion—always searching for ways to bridge the silence, always striving to give their children the fullest life possible.
