Where's Carly?
Note: This post was first published on my original blog - Celebration Generation - on May 9, 2020. It was transferred over to this blog - existing comments and all - on 4/2/2021 and 9/13/2021
Hey everyone. Not a light subject either, but please read, and amplify this. We need help.
“Where’s Carly?” is a question that I’ve been asking for over two years now, along with many others. At this point, many of us are fearing the worst for her, and something needs to be done.
Carly Fleischmann is the now-26 year old non-verbal autistic woman behind “Carly’s Voice”.
You might know her from the media coverage she’s gotten over interviewing people like Channing Tatum, or for the “Carly’s Voice” book that she wrote with her dad.
She is beloved by the autistic community.
Now - full disclaimer - I didn’t see a few of the posts that I’m going to be referring to as they happened, so I’m piecing together what I’ve heard from those who had, to get the story out there.
In early 2019, Carly posted on Facebook to say that she had been molested by her father’s boyfriend, and that her father wasn’t being supportive of her in the aftermath of that. (Here’s an article about that, including a screen shot of the post. I've included another screen shot of the same post at the bottom of this blog entry.)
A lot of people were VERY concerned - many have said that the tone and content of the post led them to believe she was in immediate danger.
The post(s) disappeared - along with her personal FB profile - and was quickly followed up with a post to her public page on February 2, 2019:
“I took down my old post bc people were threatening my families life. They put my address online that made me unsafe. I have started working on making my life a safer place. My parents have heard my voice. They will listen to words to keep me safe. Thank you for believing my words. I am safe.”
Two days later, a new post was made on her Facebook page. It has since been deleted, but a truncated version remains on her Twitter account:
“THIS IS AN ADMINISTRATOR OF CARLY'S ACCOUNT (NOT CARLY). THIS ACCOUNT WAS HACKED. THE LAST VERIFIABLE POST BY CARLY WAS ON MAY 30, 2018. WE HAVE LOCKED DOWN THE ACCOUNT. CARLY IS SAFE AND WELL - BUT WAS TAKING A...”
... and that’s the last the world heard from Carly (If the followup posts were indeed Carly - MANY of us have our doubts) , on any of her publicly facing social media accounts, and in the media.
To add to all of that, both the father (Arthur) and the brother (Matthew) have been presenting conflicting information:
The screen capture on the left shows the father's reply to her post about being sexually assaulted by her father's boyfriend. The image on the right shows the brother claiming that her account really was hacked.
If the post about being sexually assaulted was a hack, why would her father respond in such a way? That is not the way someone who has *just* learned of such an allegation would respond, that is the response of someone that's already been gaslighting a victim over the allegation would respond. If there was no assault and the account truly was hacked, ANY father would have responded in a very different way.
... so why is the brother claiming a hack? What exactly is the family trying to cover up? WHERE'S CARLY?
It’s been well over a year since this vulnerable abuse survivor spoke out and was silenced. Asking around the community, not even people who knew her personally have heard from her, or been able to make contact.
For the past year, community members have been asking about her whereabouts, for confirmation that she’s OK, etc - to absolute radio silence. (Check out the replies to the "HACKED!" tweet for some examples)
There have been posts made by people, saying that people claiming to be Carly’s family have asked them - autistics online - to remove any posts asking if Carly is OK. This has been going on for more than a year now.
Also, the current pinned post on Carly's page, from 2018 (You can view it here) starts out like this:
Presumably that's not a "hacked post", as it's been up this whole time.
SO I ask again - Where’s Carly?!
Frankly, I’m tired of asking - and seeing the community ask - to learn nothing. I’m tired of worrying that we’re going to see her name pop up on Disability Day Of Mourning - both 2019 and 2020, I scanned the list of new murder victims, dreading seeing her name.
(Note: Statistically, the greatest threat to the life of the average autistic person tends to be their caregivers. This is why we not only have a disability day of mourning - that we have enough of our own murdered by their caregivers to necessitate such an observation day! - but also why the average lifespan of an autistic person is 35 years old. Think about that!)
More needs to be done. I’m putting this out there now: Spread the word. If you know anyone involved with the Toronto Police - or any other organization that can check in on her... please get them involved.
Also: Due to the nature of Carly’s communication - and the suspicious circumstances surrounding her disappearance from social media... please trust only visual communication, either in person or by video. There have been multiple instances now of posts claiming to be Carly, that didn’t “sound” like her. Given that it appears her father wanted her silenced... be sure that “Carly” is actually Carly, and not someone speaking on her behalf. Please and thank you!
Here’s what we know:
Location: Toronto (?) or Greater Toronto Area
Father’s Name: Arthur Fleischmann
Older brother’s Name: Matthew
Mother’s Name: Tammy Starr (According to Twitter)
Note: For some reason, the mother has tagged Carly’s Twitter account as recently as April 2020, though nothing has posted to that account since February 2019.
Where's Carly?
I’m not an investigator. I have no idea how to look into any of this, or how to get results. I’m just hoping to use my platform for good, to amplify any chance that we’ll find her.
I hope she’s OK. I hope she’s out of danger, no longer being molested, and allowed to communicate in some way, even if not with the community that cares about her and is very concerned for her well being.
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
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I hope she can read this and know that there are many people concerned about her. Big virtual hugs Carly!!!
I wonder about Carly often. Thats what has lead me here. Unfortunately, the statistics of people like Carly ( and my own son) being abused is disgustingly high.
Where is she? She was intent in advocating and having a voice. She’s clearly been silenced.
I worry that she's no longer with us. I just can't see her going from how she was, to just... silent. I don't trust her family.
Hello! I think this is why she "disappeared". Apparently, she was never able to communicate and the whole thing was a hoax for decades:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Hbio5r9gq7QGc5HZQ1iUlMHVj9o-m7vP/view?usp=sharing
I found another interesting article:
https://www.facilitatedcommunication.org/blog/mysterious-disappearances-in-the-world-of-fc-what-does-it-take-to-sustain-the-illusion
Has there been any update to this? I think we should contact the media to see if they can do an investigative piece.
I haven't heard anything, and I look her up every once in a while 🙁
Carly complained a year before that that something was going on, and that her family was trying to silence her about it. Then she disclosed this. Then her father responded from his own account, telling her that she was “misunderstanding” the assault. Then Carly accused him of gaslighting her, and trying to shut her up. And then he did. The posts disappeared, hacking with claimed —and we have never heard from Carly again. She has been disappeared. Was her tablet was taken away, was access to her own account removed? Yes, the world should be worried. Carly’s voice has been silenced.
It’s now May 2023 and still nothing new from her. That I know of. Has anyone seen or heard anything?
No. 🙁
Im very concerned she is being forcefully silenced due to her accusations and because of her motor impairments and apraxia, doesnt physically have the ability to escape an abusive situation. Something about her father and the text posts dont sit right with me.
Why don't we pool money or crowd fund to pay an investigatoir?
I think about her from time to time. Tbh I’m really worried. For real. I don’t know how to find out either. Thank you for bringing recent light to this. I need to know she’s ok.
I don't understand why her parents won't address it. There are people around the world worried about her - you'd think they'd want to put our minds at ease, if she was actually ok. (And, you know, do something to look less nefarious!)
It would take all of 5 minutes to get her on video to just update people and check in.
After being reminded of Carly as I came upon a video about her from years ago, I was excited to learn that she had a book and a YouTube channel and then immediately devastated to learn that she has no social media presence immediately after coming out for the #MeToo movement. I’m so concerned about her and I don’t even know what to do about it.
I don't either.
I had hoped that writing about it might encourage action from someone who can do something, but I haven't heard anything.
I am worried about her well being
Try contacting ABC news. They did a story on her. Maybe they would be willing to investigate and do a follow up.
I think about this sometimes. Honestly, I try not to.
I don’t think we should ignore it. I would absolutely contribute to seeking justice. Even though I don’t WANT to remember it, I know we have to.
I just meant more that it’s a reminder to me of how worthless we are to allistic people. A prominent autistic person vanishes after expressing that they’ve experienced violence and the only people asking questions are autistic people. If she were an allistic person she would have been found long ago.
I have a 21 year old severely autistic son. I question how much we've seen is reality. I really really hope someone checks on her and really stands back and looks at her situation.
I'm not sure what you mean?
All the stars and reporters that were so “supportive” when she did all the media appearances, should now join forces to investigate and get her safe. They should use their power to bring Trudeau in the investigation process and prosecute her father and his boyfriend for this.
I really hope Carly Fleischmann is staying safe. No one should be taken advantage of by their parents, regardless of whether they have special needs or not.
Have been thinking of her very often... Its 2 years since you made this post....is there any update?
No 🙁
Has anyone heard anything yet? I have been trying to do some research but have found little besides what has already been shared here. I hope she is okay… the whole ordeal is heartbreaking… Thinking of and praying for you, Carly. 🥺❤️🩹
I haven't heard anything. Honestly, I'm assuming she's gone. 🙁
I am a licensed SLP as well as a certified Spelling to Communicate practitioner! I read Carly's voice and was so inspired by her and then shortly found out she has disappeared. Everything is very confusing! I have so many questions! When did her father become gay? Where is her Mom? Not to mention her TWIN sister. Something just doesn't feel right. Also if you read this article it states she has developed damage from receiving ECT therapy and can no longer communicate. Neuroplasticity is her friend! She is only 29/30 now. Gregory Tino found his voice through Spelling to Communicate at the age of 28. She just needs to be retaught how and S2C can do this. Let her have her voice back again.
https://aspiecatholic.wordpress.com/2015/02/07/the-silencing-of-carly-fleischmann/
Gregory Tino
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UKaHXl2Rm3Q
I've been thinking about her a lot lately. As a mom of an autistic adult that is non speaking, I worry tremendously about her! Has anything been done to look into this? Has anyone reported it to the Toronto police or something?