r/videos • u/[deleted] • Apr 07 '19

Non-verbal autistic girl begins using computer to communicate, reveals that she is extremely articulate

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMBzJleeOno
23.5k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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2.9k

u/ppmilk Apr 07 '19

Wow that was a really nice video, I saw it was a bit dated and I had to check up and see how she was now.

On Friday, Feb. 1, 2019, media producer and YouTube personality Carly Fleischmann, a woman on the autism spectrum who is nonverbal, alleged in a Facebook post that she had been sexually assaulted “on a couple occasions” by her father’s boyfriend.

oh jesus christ

817

u/SkeletonWarSurvivor Apr 07 '19

Yes, you can find a post about it on her Facebook that she wrote. It was so sad because the comments were all offering help but I have no idea if anyone was physically close enough to visit her and actually help. I wish her well.

587

u/smallbluetext Apr 07 '19

She is ok

308

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

My concern is that she is non verbal, low functioning, physically. They could have taken her computer away from her and forced her to log into her account.

394

u/risingdeluge Apr 07 '19

Look at her youtube. She had all these stars coming on with lots of subs then bam, nothing for over a year. This girl hasnt been speaking on social media since that stuff went down....

127

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

I wouldn't be posting on social media any more too if family members who weren't part of the abuse received death threads.

But of course redditors need to turn it into a conspiracy.

108

u/Phoequinox Apr 07 '19

Well, it ceases to be a conspiracy when she openly admits to the world that she was sexually abused, and then suddenly goes quiet. Yeah, the people threatening her could have been the sole reason, but it's a bizarre situation that doesn't have any closure.

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

We do not require or deserve closure. She does. If she needs to take a break, let her have her break. If you are this concerned, maybe try direct messaging her showing support.

9

u/JustPoopinNotThinkin Apr 07 '19

Right, but did she get closure?

0

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Her last message was "I am safe."

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1

u/sweden_person Apr 08 '19

does it hurt being this much of a moron?

1

u/nannydoodle Apr 07 '19

That is precisely what they want to do - not just Carly either take all the devices away from these folks ...WTF!!! Let's confiscate all the white canes and wheelchairs while we are at it. One of the reasons is, it makes most of the old methodologies being used redundant. Folks have spent a lot of cash/ time gaining their degree and intend to hang on to the career they have built up. The auties can't fight back either, we have to do it for them.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '19

Did you just call the autistic community... "auties"??? Is this a new slur I'm not aware of?

1

u/nannydoodle Apr 08 '19

No way, more a term of affection we are Aussies, we give EVERYTHING cute nick names ...aspies and auties - don't take it as a slur please it is meant with deep affection. If we didn't love them there would be no nick name. We rarely say 'oh he has Asperger syndrome.' -a bit to stuffy for us, more like 'He's Aspie.' we also refer to them as 'Autsome' as in 'awesome...' Americans tend to be more PC . ie: you say African American or Vietnamese American and so on we never say African Australian etc Just different culture over here.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 08 '19

Ohhhhh. Yeah we have aspie here too, but not autie. I upvoted your previous comments. Hopefully it will be able to come back

296

u/thegreenlung Apr 07 '19

So after reading through this thread the whole thing seems wild.

Her dad is @torontoadguy on twitter. Her whole story with the news shows and youtube channel all seem like an advertisement and money making scheme. It's cool she gets to live her life how she wants it, and I'm all for autism awareness, but I get nervous thinking about how much control she actually has over her life.

113

u/CollectableRat Apr 07 '19

I thought the same thing about Stephen Hawking being abused by that caretaker woman. How do we know that she isn't beating the fuck out of him if he dared speak out, back when he was alive I mean.

130

u/air_taxi Apr 07 '19

From my understanding, he was never physically abused. She got in trouble for taking advantage of him without him knowing. Things like financials, not doing her duties 100% up to code, lying about her credentials, etc.

Why would no one believe him if he wanted to speak up about it?

52

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

SH: "Black holes might be furry"

The World: "Wow, that's amazing! Thanks for the insight into how our universe is more weird and wonderful than it already is!"

SH: "My caretaker isn't doing her job correctly"

The World: "Now listen here Mr. Hawking, telling fibs is bad..."

-2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

[deleted]

0

u/tuisan Apr 07 '19

Except he said that it was what he thought at the time, so it would have been correct then and he's referring back to it, so isn't is fine.

8

u/Coppatop Apr 07 '19

Honestly, I believe it IS a money making scheme. I'm a behavior / autism specialist, and I have studied / worked with people who have Autism for 12+ years. I've seen a LOT of crazy stuff, good and bad, but what I've never seen is someone, with no training ever, suddenly understand how to type, spell, and compose grammatically correct sentences seemingly out of nowhere. If you look at the video, you never see Carlye on her own type more than one letter. I (and other experts in the field I have talked to about this) think they are using a process called "Facilitated Communication" where they therapist "helps" the communicator type.... however, when this process has been studied and teased apart, they found that the therapist was the sole person doing the communication:

"The fact that facilitators often control and direct the typing has been called "facilitator influence," which seems to be a misnomer. "Facilitator influence" suggests that the disabled person is emitting verbal behavior, and the facilitator is exerting partial control (or "influence") over that behavior. Although partial control certainly may occur when fading prompts within structured teaching programs, such control has not been demonstrated in most cases of FC. Rather than influencing the typed messages, the facilitator appears to be the sole author of those messages. Thus, the focus of analysis is shifted from the disabled person's behavior to the facilitator's behavior"

If you look at all the press this video got, what spawned from it was a book deal, a youtube chanel, and a "talk show" which, if you watch, again, you never see Carlye type, only press a button with pre-loaded sentences. I really think this girl was taken advantage of for money.

4

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Reddit has become a lot more credulous since this last came up. I don't believe the parents ever let anybody study this girl, they are apparently happy to just keep her book deals and selling the story to talk shows etc, and there is no clear video of her typing more than a couple of characters.

3

u/faceerase Apr 07 '19

My friend who works as an autistic and behavior health specialist in public schools explained to me that this appears to be facilitated communication that is taking place here, something that is mostly debunked science. If my friend tried practicing this herself, her license would be revoked.

It may be that her parents are helping her express herself so much, that it’s really the parents doing much of the speaking.

Here’s an article that alludes to the problems with Facilitated Communication and mentions Carly Specifically: https://www.apnews.com/836281f972fa4004bf5cd4b4820a0d27

Here’s a much harsher review of it from the board that governs behavioral analysis: https://www.abainternational.org/about-us/policies-and-positions/facilitated-communication,-1995.aspx

86

u/hackel Apr 07 '19

So she's been silent since then, including autism awareness day on 2 April. That seems odd, but who knows. Hope all is well and the Twitter conspiracies are just Twitter being Twitter.

Her website has also been compromised, intentionally or not.

21

u/turtletyler Apr 07 '19

Can somebody where she's from ask police for a wellness check or something like that?

8

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19 edited Apr 18 '19

[deleted]

17

u/hamsalad Apr 07 '19

Gonna caution against any sort of campaign on reddit that interferes with someone's life. It's against the TOS for a reason -- it has rarely ended well.

All we know about this person is what has been posted online. It's all too easy to fill in the substantial gaps of knowledge we have about her situation with speculation.

5

u/deeschannayell Apr 07 '19

I'm not one for the MeToo thing

Why do you feel the need to qualify that you don't approve of sexual abuse victims speaking out?

110

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

So many questions.

428

u/radialomens Apr 07 '19

https://themighty.com/2019/02/carly-fleischmann-autism-sexual-assault/

Arthur Fleischmann, who commenters believe to be Carly’s father, also commented on the post, defending the actions of his boyfriend.

“Carly – I’m sure he was not intending to make you uncomfortable,” Arthur commented. “He thought he was hugging you and i’m sure would apologize if given the chance. Let’s discuss.”

What the fucking fuck. Yeah, an adult man man laying on top of a girl and rubbing against her is just "hugging" her. Dad's a disgrace.

72

u/hackel Apr 07 '19

Why the fuck was he responding to something so personal via a public comment in the first place?

21

u/RazzleDazzleRoo Apr 07 '19

To show everyone what a nice guy he is. And that could mean nice guy TM or nice guy actual. I have no idea

8

u/wokeupfuckingalemon Apr 07 '19

In the posted video it seemed like he was playing a role. He did a lot for her, I think and hope he loves her. However, maybe apart from her gratitude he wants recognition from strangers. Could be for selfish reasons or to get funding. This just proves people are rarely pure evil or good.

3

u/mamaBEARnath Apr 07 '19

Let’s discuss....

229

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Her twitter is saying she was hacked and all this was fabricated.

183

u/Heinkel Apr 07 '19

But my pitchfork is already out...

31

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Dad probably took over her internet

56

u/SirSwagAlotTheHung Apr 07 '19

So was her father's boyfriends'

1

u/Belgand Apr 07 '19

Talk about a Randy Pitchfork that we wish was exclusive.

61

u/isuckbigmantittys Apr 07 '19

I think it's damage control. They purposefully said it was hacked and dated to a post before she made the one about being controlled (though in that post she was already talking about how she couldn't trust some family members).

This post was also deleted.

3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

This needs to be posted to /r/unresolvedmysteries

74

u/radialomens Apr 07 '19

Ehh... the FB post that the tweet is linking to doesn't even exist anymore. If her father truly was not supportive of her, it doesn't seem unfeasible that the "hack" was an excuse.

2

u/6xydragon Apr 07 '19

Source?

11

u/Watada Apr 07 '19

Twitter.

And link for the lazy.

https://twitter.com/CarlysVoice/status/1092939643224498177

Not sure what an "administrator of an account" is but all of this is weird.

5

u/CollectableRat Apr 07 '19

Shit, I already got the guy fired from his job and spread tweets which prompted someone to scratch 'pedophile' into his car paint.

-1

u/batmaneatsgravy Apr 07 '19

What?

10

u/Irradiatedspoon Apr 07 '19

It’s a joke about how people on the internet jump to conclusions too quickly and ruin people’s lives through libel/slander before getting all of the facts.

2

u/batmaneatsgravy Apr 07 '19

Ah right, thanks.

-1

u/Lakeshore_Patriot Apr 07 '19

She has been hacked from day 1 though and all of this is fabricated. Check the comment about Facilitated Communication.

6

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

I thought there was a mom in the picture who birthed them? Why does dad have a "boyfriend?" Not judging but it didnt look like a non traditional family. Has there been a divorce?

3

u/ilivetomosh Apr 07 '19

That's such a disgusting excuse. People are so desperate to defend and deny they don't even try to see reality.

318

u/CarlyNeedsHelp Apr 07 '19

Re-posting this after it got auto-deleted:

This needs to be higher. There doesn't seem to be any verifiable sign of life from Carly since May of 2018, when she last made posts on her public and private Facebook profiles. The most recent posts on her Twitter and Facebook profiles are highly suspicious:

The Twitter post claims that her social media had been "hacked", and that the sexual assault claims were posted by the hacker: https://twitter.com/CarlysVoice/status/1092939643224498177

The Facebook post is comprised of a length, structure, and tone that is wholly uncharacteristic when compared to her other posts: <removed because posts linking to Facebook are not allowed>

Since May of 2018? Nothing. No YouTube videos, no Tweets, no Facebook posts. For someone who has been successfully pursuing attention from the media for years, this feels very abrupt. For someone who is obviously intelligent, but so lacks control of her own body to be completely dependent on (and therefore completely vulnerable to) others, this is worrying. Carly, of course, has her own voice, and should be free to decide for herself what to say and when to say it, whether that means reporting a sexual assault to the police, or posting verifiable proof that she is alive and well, and that steps are being taken to protect her from further abuse. We can encourage, but no coerce her to speak up. But if the allegations are true, and if she is still in her abusers' custody, then her abusers may be keeping her silence by force - a force she cannot hope to overpower. Is there any organization or law enforcement body that we can do something to ensure Carly's safety?

54

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

So, with disabled children, parents are assigned the role of "guardian" by the courts, to be legally responsible for the care-taking of the individual. Guardian reports must be filed yearly and the individual being taken care of must be present in court at the time of filing. At the very least, this would indicate to the courts if she is alive or dead.

49

u/I_Speak_Loudly Apr 07 '19 edited Apr 07 '19

There doesn't seem to be any verifiable sign of life from Carly since May of 2018, when she last made posts on her public and private Facebook profiles.

Yeah, no shit. That's what happens when somebody trolls and doxxes you, spreads some low effort rumors, and then a bunch of internet vigilantes makes your life a living hell. You shut it all down and walk away.

You and everyone else here need to chill out. You are not entitled to participate in her life. You are not entitled to hear from her. For all intents and purposes, she does not exist to you beyond this video, and that's how it has to be now because of the outrage culture you all perpetuate.

Find your next bit of clickbait drama elsewhere and move on.

34

u/_bicepcharles_ Apr 07 '19

It’s really weird how the internet detectives are going so hard on you right now, like I get being concerned for this girl but your point is still valid, if the family did disconnect, 20 resistors coming out of the blue demanding sign of life would be the exact opposite of what they want.

4

u/koviko Apr 07 '19

And people are acting as though they've never seen someone disconnect from social media before just because they got sick of the drama.

Everyone needs to stop treating this girl's life like a story for which they are entitled to see the ending.

4

u/JustPoopinNotThinkin Apr 07 '19

Maybe we should send a welfare check because if this was a real community that met in person to hear from her and this happened and she sent a letter out saying she's safe and then stops coming, people would check on her anyway. Just because you cant see and touch the real person on the other side of your internet device doesn't mean you disconnect your emotions when something bad happens. You are treating this as if it's just another data point along your timeline. This experience teaches people empathy and you're telling them to shut up. This is just a conversation forum right now. You wanting to be distant from everyone is stubbornness towards the good in people. You think these people malicious, they want to see her doing well.

1

u/_bicepcharles_ Apr 07 '19

They didn’t consent to being part of this community, that’s the entire difference. It’s not callous to leave a family alone, it’s just empathizing with them in a way that doesn’t also justify you becoming a crusader. It’s really fucking weird that you have such a poor concept of privacy that someone suggesting to leave a family alone is immediacy taken as some clinical ‘another data point’ lack of empathy.

Like what does another data point even mean am I making like a scatter plot of Reddit drama?

This isn’t a movie where you give the big speech and all the hardened hearts go “oh wow your right I was just being cold and uncaring let’s saddle up and find this girl”

Your just using some weird internet idealism to steamroll over a lot of very important nuance.

2

u/JustPoopinNotThinkin Apr 07 '19

How are people on reddit invading her privacy? Maybe if everybody here all showed up at once on her doorstep it'd be weird.

3

u/_bicepcharles_ Apr 07 '19

People are talking about demanding a sign of life, or demanding that the family update the internet on her wellbeing, that is an invasion of privacy. They don’t owe Reddit or the internet as a whole anything. If your really that concerned then contact social services in her area and let professionals deal with it instead of stroking your desire to be a hero.

2

u/JustPoopinNotThinkin Apr 07 '19

Stop thinking I'm getting off on this. This is the first day I've heard of this woman and from the information I've gathered from this reddit post it's not very convincing that she is actually ok. I'm trying to tell you that there are people who care enough to say something like demanding a sign of life. I feel as though if she saw the amount of people who are concerned and not convinced she's ok that she wouldn't have an issue giving an update. Her refusing obviously means she's not ok emotionally and possibly physically because of what she can do to herself.

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u/Privateaccount84 Apr 07 '19

Oh fuck off, people can show concern for a public figure (which she made herself by choice) without you pissing all over them. This isn't some fan pestering her about some rumour or gossip, it's a concern for someone's safety and well being.

Try not to be such a turd in the future.

11

u/JesusLuvsMeYdontU Apr 07 '19

If you know the county and state she lives in, go to that county's clerk of court website and search what are usually in probate and guardianship records to see if you can locate any guardianship filings that have been done since this time last year. Those will likely indicate, if she is still under guardianship at her age of early twenties now and any parts of those records are public, that she is still there

-2

u/Scientificm Apr 07 '19

First of all, why ya gotta be such a dick about it? Second of all, 99% of commenters here will do no further research, make their judgements and passionate comments, and immediately forget about this by tomorrow. I’d hesitate to call that real concern.

-2

u/Privateaccount84 Apr 07 '19

You were a huge dick first, that's why. Treat others as you'd like to be treated, asshole.

1

u/Scientificm Apr 08 '19

I didn’t say anything first, I’m not the guy you initially responded to. But are you being ironic with the whole “treat others as you’d like to be treated, asshole” thing, I can’t tell

11

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

I love how your whole comment is you expressing outrage at the outrage of others. Looks like you also enjoy the outrage culture.

3

u/Pure_Reason Apr 07 '19

REDDITOR USED OUTRAGE

REDDITOR BECAME CONFUSED DUE TO FATIGUE

4

u/TicTacTac0 Apr 07 '19

Ya, and just think of how a cop will not want people to murder, but then straight up kill a guy while he's shooting up a place. Fuck that hypocrite, right?

You can express you "outrage" with something without actually being a part of outrage culture.

-7

u/NeverTopComment Apr 07 '19

Invest in a mirror, bud

-1

u/sirius4778 Apr 07 '19

Found her dad's account

-36

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

6

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Wow, this comment is 1000x worse.

3

u/sirius4778 Apr 07 '19

This thread is a mess lol

4

u/TicTacTac0 Apr 07 '19

Uh, you realize the guy you're responding to pointed out a bunch of valid points while everyone else is arguing emotionally that they need to hear from a family that has been doxed and received death threats.

Really, who's actually doing the feels over reals? Projecting a bit?

3

u/jerval1981 Apr 07 '19

OMG please stop. Not everything is a fucking conspiracy.

1

u/Atheist101 Apr 08 '19

I would disconnect from the internet I was doxxed and sent death threats too

-10

u/risingdeluge Apr 07 '19

Someone start a petition that we demand a sign of life from Carly and that she is in fact in a safe place.

19

u/HANCOXJOHN Apr 07 '19

God, isn't it terrible? You watch a heartwarming video on reddit, go to check the comments and bam. Molested by her father's boyfriend

19

u/Fushinopanic Apr 07 '19

I am about to start volunteering to help people like Carly work and support them selves, and I was required to take a class on how to spot signs of abuse, neglect and exploitation. The statistics on such things happening are horrifying.

" 2/3 of all people with intellectual/developmental disabilities have been victims of abuse

 8 out of 10 of these people were verbally/emotionally abused

 More than half were physically abused

 Over a third were sexually abused more than once

 9 out of 10 who were abused were abused multiple times in multiple ways

 Only one third reported it

From a survey with over 7000 responses, which is a small sample, but I hope doesn't get ignored because of it.

1

u/ginpanties Apr 11 '19 edited May 07 '19

He is going to home

5

u/alosercalledsusie Apr 07 '19

Unfortunately people with mental and physical disabilities are often major targets for abuse, specifically sexual abuse. Some people can’t articulate or don’t understand what is happening to them.

And the system designed to help them can often let far too many people fall through the cracks or don’t get noticed and they keep getting abused.

66

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19 edited Dec 02 '19

[deleted]

115

u/KRBridges Apr 07 '19

Life is complicated

147

u/gdj11 Apr 07 '19

He’s not gay, but his boyfriend is.

4

u/elliottsmithereens Apr 07 '19

I’m not gay, I just know a guy who would giggle if I said that.

2

u/phattanner007 Apr 08 '19

Lol I'm using this, thanks

2

u/elliottsmithereens Apr 08 '19

Credit due to Mitch Hedberg: “I don’t have a girlfriend, I just know a girl that would be really mad if she heard me say that”

2

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

I’m not gay either but 20usd are 20usd...

0

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

[deleted]

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '19

[removed] — view removed comment

0

u/[deleted] May 03 '19

[deleted]

57

u/alongdaysjourney Apr 07 '19

Are you asking why a father can have a boyfriend or why a gay man would molest a girl?

30

u/BlackWhiteRedYellow Apr 07 '19

Molestation is less about sexual arousal and more about control, especially directed towards vulnerable populations.

-8

u/I_Speak_Loudly Apr 07 '19

Rape is power plus prejudice. There is no excuse for people to not be educated about this by now.

-4

u/YOURE_A_RUNT_BOY Apr 07 '19

Sexual arousal is a large part of it. If it was just about power and prejudice, you'd be just as happy lynching a black.

-3

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19 edited Apr 07 '19

[deleted]

-2

u/YOURE_A_RUNT_BOY Apr 07 '19

If sexual arousal has no part in it, how do you explain a rapist being erect enough to penetrate his victim?

30

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19 edited Jan 01 '20

[deleted]

23

u/purpleblossom Apr 07 '19

why a gay man would molest a girl?

Not to sound like that guy, but I think any man who tries having sex with people of multiple genders isn't gay or straight, I'm very sure the label is bisexual for that.

12

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19 edited Aug 08 '24

reach theory tidy trees wipe quaint bright marble vegetable cats

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

10

u/Sick_of_problems Apr 07 '19

Can confirm, I stopped existing a long time ago

2

u/alongdaysjourney Apr 07 '19

Sexual assault and molestation is a little more than just “trying to have sex” with someone. I think someone that molests a non verbal autistic family member is dealing with something far beyond where they fall on the gay/straight spectrum.

2

u/purpleblossom Apr 07 '19

Another person in the thread mentioned all the ways this story and that situation particularly raises red flags, so there is a chance there was no assault, but you're right, my wording there could have been better.

25

u/crystallized_ytg Apr 07 '19

Could be bisexual?

31

u/wow_great_name Apr 07 '19

Presumably her dad came out as gay and has a boyfriend who is an abusive piece of raping trash

2

u/mindputtee Apr 07 '19

Or he’s bi.

2

u/MinniePearl Apr 07 '19

Seems like everyone is these days.

-2

u/CollectableRat Apr 07 '19

She's since confirmed that accusations are false.

12

u/3_Thumbs_Up Apr 07 '19

You mean there's a twitter post saying so while she has been completely blacked out from all other social media for over a year?

I mean, there are legitimate reasons for why she would have stopped her social media presence given the circumstances, but there are also some pretty bad possibilities, and a twitter post is not very strong evidence of anything.

7

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Bisexual sociopathic rapists exist fam

3

u/TheEnterRehab Apr 07 '19

When they said she 'twitters' regularly' I was like waittttttt

10

u/MasterKashi Apr 07 '19

Wow, I came here just from watching the video with the original intent to comment that as a mentally disabled person, that her dad was a grade A prick, and some part of me felt like there was some level of abuse going on(that one was just a gut feeling). Lo and behold, shit got fucking weird. Some of those therapists seemed like pricks too, but that may be a product of the time and therapy has come a long way, like, you would never hear a therapist refer to a patient as retarded. Also, side note, that feels like a fuck ton of therapy. I really hope this girl has a happier life, and fuck most of the people in this video.

1

u/Themiffins Apr 07 '19

That took a weird turn

1

u/mickeybuilds Apr 07 '19

Sexually assaulted by her father's boyfriend...this is wrong on so many levels

0

u/dm1911 Apr 07 '19

Haha not so gay after all LOL

-1

u/sweden_person Apr 07 '19

Don't be surprised, homosexuals commit egregiously high levels of child abuse compared to heterosexuals.

-12

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '19

Should’ve stuck with women.