Larry John Bissonnette (born 1957 in

Winooski, Vermont Winooski is a city in Chittenden County, Vermont, United States. Located on the Winooski River, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census the municipal population was 7,997. The city is the most densely populated municipality in nort ...

) is an American

autistic Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing di ...

artist who starred in two films showcasing his art and travels. 2005 in ''My Classic Life as an Artist'' and in 2011 '' Wretches & Jabberers''. Both films have been criticized by the science community for claiming that Bissonnette can communicate through the discredited

pseudoscience Pseudoscience consists of statements, beliefs, or practices that claim to be both scientific and factual but are incompatible with the scientific method. Pseudoscience is often characterized by contradictory, exaggerated or unfalsifiable cl ...

facilitated communication Facilitated communication (FC), or supported typing, is a scientifically discredited technique which claims to allow non-verbal people, such as those with autism, to communicate. The technique involves a facilitator guiding the disabled person ...

Biography

Bissonnette is the son of Albert Bissonnette and his wife Alma Marie, née Bashaw. He has three brothers and sisters. At age two, he experienced a high fever, which might have caused some kind of damage to his nervous system. By the time he was eight, he was sent to the Brandon Training School, which was Vermont's only institute for people with intellectual disabilities at the time. During this time, he used techniques of art such as drawing and painting to help himself through self-expression. By the time he was 18, he was transferred to Vermont Psychiatric Hospital in

Waterbury, Vermont Waterbury is a town in Washington County in central Vermont, United States. Although the town is still home to the Waterbury Village Historic District, the village sharing the name of the town officially dissolved as a municipality in 2018. As ...

. In 1991, Bissonnette was introduced to

. Although this was quickly discredited as a valid communication technique (''

Skeptical Inquirer ''Skeptical Inquirer'' (S.I.) is a bimonthly American general-audience magazine published by the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) with the subtitle "The Magazine for Science and Reason". The magazine initially focused on investigating clai ...

'' claims that "it is clear that their facilitators are prompting them by touching an arm or shoulder as they type"), Bissonnette and his therapists and facilitators continued to use it.

Art

Bissonnette has created many works of art (over three hundred by 1990). In 1989, he received an honorable mention from the Vermont Council on the Arts for his painting and sculpture. Some of his works depict "faces peering through a veil, as if imprisoned". Bissonnette's art is in the collection of the Musée de l'Art Brut in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

In media

In 2005, Larry starred in his biographical film, ''My Classic Life as an Artist: A Portrait of Larry Bissonnette''. In 2011, Larry and his ally Tracy Thresher were in a documentary called '' Wretches & Jabberers'', which documented his travels around the world. The film has been criticized for claiming that Bissonnette and Thresher can communicate through facilitated communication. In 2012, they were both featured in an episode of the

National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly ''The National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as ''Nat Geo'') is an American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. The magazine was founded in 1888 as a scholarly journal, nine ...

Taboo A taboo is a social group's ban, prohibition or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, offensive, sacred or allowed only for certain people.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'' television series which was titled "Strange Behavior".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissonnette, Larry 1957 births Autism rights movement American disability rights activists Living people Autistic artists American autistic people American activists with disabilities American artists with disabilities Facilitated communication