Essay on Prisoners of Silence - 915 Words

Belief perseverance is defined by Meyers as Persistence of ones initial conceptions, as when the basis for ones belief is discredited but an explanation of why the belief might be true survives. This phenomenon is readily observable and at many times throughout the film Prisoners of Silence. It can be observed in the man who discovered facilitated language, parents of autistic children, teachers, facilitators and even in the view of the film. The video begins by introducing a revolutionary new possibility in the understanding of what autism is and how to approach those persons afflicted. Through a technique called facilitated language many autistic children were seemingly freed from the inability to communicate. Many were able†¦show more content†¦Biklen is quite capable of reasoning why it may still be true. For example, when presented with the data collected by a double-blind study he has the following reasons it may have turned up such negative results: a test is a confrontational situation and the patients may have been uncomfortable proving themselves. He said it is possible that patients and/or facilitators may have frozen when asked to perform for researches. He also claimed that many patients experience severe word forming problems. By this he meant that, although the patient may recognize the object, he may be unable to retrieve its name from memory. Each of these could be true. However, to a person looking objectively, Dr. Biklen is clearly attempting to justify a persistent belief. Many parents had stories about children using facilitated speech. One woman believes despite evidence because she has seen her daughter make up words for objects she doesnt know the name. Her belief has been discredited, but she has found a reason it might be true. Another concept illustrated is that of the Confirmation Bias. It is defined as a tendency to search for information that confirms ones preconceptions and is very similar to belief perseverance in the case of Prisoners of Silence. In this case, the participants of facilitated speech are much more inclined to verify instead of disprove their belief that it is an effective tool for working with autism.Show MoreRelatedEssay Night by Elie Wiesel885 Words   |  4 Pages The next theme that became apparent throughout the story was Silence. Although not seen always throughout this book, Silence is always there. For example when Elie asks the fellow prisoners, where is God? At this moment everyone became silent. Everyone was thinking the same thing, how a man this powerful, could let something this tragic and cruel happen to these people. ThisRead More`` Night `` By Elie Wiesel1321 Words   |  6 Pagesunaware audience about three themes; identity, silence, and faith. 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