Coma victim was not really communicating, say doctors

By Rebecca Smith Published: 7:00AM GMT 20 Feb 2010

Claims that Rom Houben, a Belgian car crash victim, was suddenly able to communicate after a 23-year coma have been found to be false Photo: SKY

The case of Mr Houben, 46, who was involved in an accident in 1983, made headlines around the world last November when his speech therapist said he was able to guide her hand around a keyboard.

During supposed interviews, Mr Houben described feeling angry at his powerlessness. "Other people had an opinion of me," Mr Houben told the BBC. "I knew what I could do and what I was capable of but other people had a rather pathetic image of me. I had to learn to be patient and now finally we are on an equal footing."

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Mr Houben"s mother went on to say he was writing a book that he was typing out via his speech therapist.

But repeated tests with Mr Houben have since failed and experts have likened the technique known as facilitated communication to using a "Ouija board".

Dr Steven Laureys, a neurologist at Liege University Hospital in Belgium, concluded the claims were false after conducting experiments in which Mr Houben was presented with words and objects while the therapist was out of the room. When the facilitator returned, the patient was asked what he had been shown or told.

Doctors now acknowledge that while he is conscious he is not communicating.

Dr Laureys said: "The story of Rom is about the diagnosis of consciousness not communication. From the start I did not prescribe this technique. But it is important not to make judgements. His family and caregivers acted out of love and compassion."

Prof Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at University of Pennsylvania, in America, said: "It"s like using a Ouija board. It was too good to be true and we shouldn"t have believed it."