PECS

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a communication tool that is widely used, especially with children with children on the autism spectrum (Jurgens et al., 2009). It is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) that uses pictures instead of words to help children communicate. If used appropriately, it can help ease a lot of the barriers and frustration caused by lack of communication skills within the classroom - and in some cases also be assistive in helping a child understand the usefulness of communication and hopefully begin to use natural speech.

The system can:


 * • Teach communication and social interaction**
 * • Teach word sequencing**
 * • Allow and encourage children with autism to develop independent skills**

The following is an example of how the cards may look:



PECS is not a uncommon thing within schools in Australia - both mainstream and special education facilities. Some children may rely on the PECS system to communicate, while other students with communication difficulties in a mainstream class may just find it beneficial for them or the teacher to use certain visual prompts, or incorporate the PECS as part of a visual timetable. It is important that the teacher and parent work collaboratively when implementing such a tool to allow for greater success, both in school and out.

The following link is for the program series BoardMaker.

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Boardmaker is an amazing program for creating communication resources and prompts. It is highly developed and the visual picture library incorporated in the program is huge. You can quite easily find visuals to support almost any situation, and they can be quite easily be edited to suit the child's individual needs. Programs such as this allow for PECS cards to be created with ease, and one of the great benefits of it is that they are quite inexpensive to make.

References:

Jurgens, A., Anderson, A., & Moore, D. (2009). The Effect of Teaching PECS to a Child With Autism on Verbal Behaviour, Play, and Social Functioning. //Behaviour Change//, //26//(1), 66-81. doi:10.1375/bech.26.1.66.

__More Information about PECS__

PECS are also called communication books, charts or boards.

The following photographs were taken by Joel Mallett at Malkara Special School in Garran ACT on the 8th of July 2011.

Display board in corridor of Malkara School showing communication books and their use. (a) Page of communication book (see final image)

Page of communication book

__**More information on PECS**__ Picture Exchange System (PECS) is a pictorial program developed for children with social communication deficits, particularly children with autism. The system involves basic behavioural principles and techniques through the use of images of various items or actions that the individual engages in. The pictures are kept in a folder that contains strips of “Velcro” to hold pictures in place and to allow them to be lined up to form a sentence (Charlop-Christy. M., Carpenter. M., Le. L., Le Blank. L., Kellet. K., 2002)

PECS begins with teaching an individual to give a picture of an item to a “communicative partner” who then exchanges the picture for the actual item. The demonstration goes on with the use of verbal demonstration by the communicative partner. For example, if the individual picks up a picture of an apple when the communicative partner offers the actual apple they hold the apple close to their mouth and say “apple” to the individual (Pyramid Educational Consultant n.d). There is a strong link between the Picture Exchange System and B.F Skinner’s theory and book on Verbal Behaviour (Pyramid Educational Consultant n.d). Verbal behaviour is reliant on the audience and promotes response to stimulus. Barbera (2007) further explains that verbal behaviour involves working on expressive language and learning how to communicate effectively to the listener. The learning outcomes for PECS are variable and depend on the individual and what their communicative level they are before the PECS training. Research outlined in Charlop-Christy et al. (2002.) identified various phases that individuals could reach during PECS training. These included, picture discrimination in which the individual is able to identify and link pictures with the items. Sentence structure by combining an “I want” card with an item they desire. Being able to respond to questions such as “What do you want?” and “What do you see?” Through the PECS training, the individual becomes aware of the means of communication and connect with the world around them. Charlop-Christy et al. (2002) also suggests that through the research conducted, problem behaviour was decreased. It was recorded that less tantrums occurred and the number of times they left their seat was decreased. This may be because they are able to get their message across and are able to communicate needs and wants. Overall, individuals may not be able to develop verbal communication (Charlop-Christy et al., 2002.) However, I feel this tool is effective in the home and the classroom, providing individuals the opportunity to communicate and interact with their environment.

Charlop-Christy. M., Carpenter. M., Le. L., Le Blank. L., Kellet. K., (2002) //Using the Picture Exchange System (PECS) with children with autism: assessment of PECS acquisition, speech, social-communicative behaviour, and problem behaviour.// Journal of Applied Behaviour Analyis. 35, 213 231. Retrieved from: [] Pyramid Educational Consultant (n.d). //What is PECS?// Retrieved from: [] Barbera. M.L., Rasmussen. T., Sundberg. M. (2007). //The Verbal Behaviour Approach. How to Teach Children with Autism and Related Disorders.// London, United Kingdon, Jessica Kingsely Publishers.
 * References**