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WHAT IS PECS?
According to Pyramid Education Consultants, "PECS is a unique alternative/augmentative communication system developed in the USA in 1985 by Andy Bondy, Ph.D., and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP." It consists of six phases, beginning with teaching individuals communication in the form of requests via picture cards to their communicative partners and receiving the desired object or action immediately through the exchange. Eventually, it shifts to discrimination with sentence formulation, such as comments, in the later phases.
Potential Candidates for PECS
The outcome of PECS is functional communication with some of its users developing speech and others transitioning to speech-generating devices (SGDs). Therefore, appropriate candidates for PECS could be:
Infants/Toddlers with developmental disabilities (ex. Down Syndrome, ASD, Intellectual Disability).
Infants/Toddlers with limited vocabulary.
Infants/Toddlers with receptive and expressive language delay.
(Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) - 2021)
How to obtain PECS Implementer Certification for Level I*?
Attend PECS 1 Training Workshop
Apply online at www.pyramidonlinelearning.com or contact your local Pyramid office for an application.
Take the PECS Level 1 Knowledge Examination. Achieve 90%-earn PECS Level 1 Knowledge Certificate.
Update your application and complete the registration requirements for the PECS Level 1 Demonstratio portion.
Submit and pass all requirements for the PECS Level 1 Demonstration portion. Once all written and demonstration requirements are completed and passed, you will receive a PECS Level 1 Implementer Certificate.
Pyramid Educational Consultants (2021)
*A study by Barnes et al. (2011), found that "workshops and videos may not be effective for training staff" to implement PECS with fidelity. As such staff members interested in implementing PECS should complete a PECS Level 1 Implementer Training.
Evidence-Based Practice
Evidence-Based Practice
In a study by Sulzer-Azaroff et al. (2009), discovered that "the growing body of research reported [that] supports the conclusion that PECS is an especially promising system for enabling nonspeaking individuals to communicate functionally across a wide audience of listeners (including those who speak a language other than English)" (p. 101). Also, PECS "has enabled hundredes of individuals effectively to express their wants, needs, and observations" (p. 101). As such, PECS is a proven method that can be used in therapy to support the communication needs of non-verbal children.
Therefore, PECS can be implemented with children with language delay, mixed receptive-expressive language disorder, apraxia of speech, ASD, and across languages.
PHASE I: Objective
PHASE I: Objective
By December 2022, Upon seeing and wanting a particular item, and with a picture of that item in reach, the Frankie will pick up the picture, reach to the person holding the item, and release the picture into that person's hand independently across 10 out of 10 opportunities when the trainer is within 1 foot for 5 different reinforcers across 3 trainers and 3 activities as measured by SLP data collection.
PHASE I Therapy Requirements & Materials
1. Two trainers are required to teach initiation.
2. No verbal prompts are used during this phase.
3. Present one picture at a time.
4. Do not conduct all training in a single session- arrange for at least 30-40 opportunities throughout the day for the student to request.
5. Use different types of reinforcers -food, toys, etc.
6. Modify the symbol/picture to match the motor skills of the student.
Edible reinforcers make up the primary reinforcers that should be used, such as snacks, goldfish, drinks, which will provide for high-frequency opportunities and low satiation.
Highly-preferred toys should be the secondary reinforcers used during this stage, as they provide a high-interest and several opportunitie for use.
Specific Picture Icons representing the primary and secondary reinforcers should be used.
PECS Phase I Data Sheet lists the dates, type of reinforcers, the scoring of prompts across the three skill areas by the prompt trainer, and prompts provided by the communicative partner.
Beginning the Foundation: Phase I "How" to Communicate
Beginning the Foundation: Phase I "How" to Communicate
Steps
First, begin by arranging the seating environment, so that the picture icon is placed between the child and the communicative partner, and the physical prompter stands behind (out of view) the child.
The communicative partner should provide one free trial of a highly-preferred edible item to get the activity going.
The communicative partner should then entice the child with the highly-preferred edible to elicit the child's communicative intent (ex. reaching toward the object with hand).
Once the child attempts to swipe at the highly preferred item (ex. communicative intent), the physical prompter's role is to guide the child to instead reach for the picture card in order to grab, extend, and place it in the communicative partner's hand, In exchange for the item.
This will then result in immediate reinforcement of the edible item.
The process is repeated once more by the communicative partner placing the card back on the table in its original position.
Prompting is provided as needed and gradually faded by the physical prompter. The only person that can talk is the communicative partner, by modeling the spoken word of the target symbol, as soon as the exchange occurs. The physical prompter must not talk nor make presence known.
Finally, data is collected. The prompting for initial trials will begin with the most support, hand-over-hand physical prompting, and gradually fade out to the least support, with the end goal of independently teaching the three sequential skills of grabbing, extending, and releasing the icon on the communicative partner's hand to make requests.
Hierarchy of Prompts Used in PHASE I
Hierarchy of Prompts Used in PHASE I
Independent - (Natural Cue)
Picture symbols and reinforcement items are readily accessible.
Partial Physical:
a) Light Tactile Touch (on the elbow)
a) Light Tactile Touch (on the elbow)
b) Minimal Physical Guidance (guiding hand toward the picture)
c) Moderate Physical Guidance (guiding hand toward the picture and extending it toward the communicative partner)
c) Moderate Physical Guidance (guiding hand toward the picture and extending it toward the communicative partner)
Full Physical Prompt:
Hand-over-hand (guiding the hand to grab the picture, extending it to the communicative partner, and releasing the picture into the hand.)
Hand-over-hand (guiding the hand to grab the picture, extending it to the communicative partner, and releasing the picture into the hand.)
REFERENCES
Barnes, C.S., Dunning, J. L., & Rehfeldt, R. A. (2011). An evaluation of strategies for training staff to implement the picture exchange communication system. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 5(4), 1574–1583. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2011.03.003
Frost, L., & Bondy, A. (2002). The Picture Exchange Communication System Training Manual. Pyramid Educational Consultants.
Home. Pyramid Educational Consultants. (2022, June 17). Retrieved December 16, 2022, from http://www.pecs.com/
PECPECS® Certification FAQ -. Pyramid Educational Consultants. (2021, May 25). Retrieved December 18, 2022, from https://pecsusa.com/pecs-certification-faq/#s1
SGlobal. (2019, October 29). An introduction to PECS (classic video). YouTube. Retrieved December 16, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsDBJyrcyh0
Sulzer-Azaroff, Hoffman, A. O., Horton, C. B., Bondy, A., & Frost, L. (2009). The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS): What Do the Data Say? Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 24(2), 89–103. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357609332743
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