CAN PICTURES HELP MY CHILD COMMUNICATE? USING THE “   EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM”

What is PECS?

Picture Exchange Communication System Developed by Andrew S. Bondy, Ph.D. & Lori Frost, M.S., CCC/SLP. 

PECS was developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative/alternative communication intervention package for individuals with a variety of communication impairments. PECS has received worldwide recognition for focusing on the initiation component of communication. PECS begins by teaching an individual to give a picture of a desired item to a “communicative partner”, who immediately honors the exchange as a request. The system goes on to teach discrimination of pictures and how to put them together in sentences. In the more advanced phases, individuals are taught to answer questions and to comment. The individuals are encouraged to pair verbalizations with pictures and symbols. PECS has been noted to be effective in increasing all types of communication including functional speech and /or use of voice output devices. Children utilize the PECS system to effectively communicate needs and wants as they move through the protocol. The PECS teaching protocol is based on B.F. Skinner’s book, Verbal Behavior. You may see the Picture Communication Symbols used throughout our preschool environment here at Willard. We find that use of these symbols assists early communicators of all abilities increase vocabulary, sentence structure and communicative intent.

Please see the full article at :

http://www.pecsusa.com/pecs.php

Please see Mrs. Schmidt with any questions!