Picture Exchange Communication System

Assessment of PECS

The purpose of the picture exchange communication system (PECS) is to help children develop communication skills through the use of pictures and phrases. Children are taught to request desired items by selecting a card that reads a phrase such as, “I want”, then selecting an image card that depicts a desired item such as, “juice.” In exchange for the images, the child receives the desired item. PECS is an affordable and portable method for communication that can be taught quickly to children with autism. This research study examined the effectiveness of PECS; it provides evidence for increased frequency of speech, increased social-communicative behaviors, and decreased problem behaviors in three children with autism. (Charlop-Christy,

First, they were taught to hand a blank card to the communicative partner (Physical exchange, #1). Next, they selected a picture card from their PECS board, gave the card to a partner, and received reinforcement (Expand spontaneity, #2). In the third phase, the children chose a specific image among multiple (Picture discrimination, #3). Fourth, they learned to create sentences by selecting a sentence card, such as, “I want” alongside the image card of a desired item. The child then delivered both cards to the partner, who read the “I want” strip with a delay before stating the item. The child was given praise if they responded to the phrase, “I want” with the desired item. (Sentence structure, #4) In the fifth phase, the children learned to answer the phrase, “What do you want?” by selecting a picture card. (What do you want?, #5) Lastly, they were taught to describe what objects they see by selecting the appropriate card. (Commenting, #6)

For each phase, the therapists collected data on communication response during spontaneous and imitative speech, as well as social-communication and problem behaviors. The children were given 5 opportunities each for spontaneous and imitative speech. For spontaneous speech, the therapists presented a desired object to the child and waited 10 seconds for the child to speak, without prompting. Only if the child spoke did he receive the desired object. For verbal imitative

Began at 11 requests per session and increased to 28 requests post-training..

Jake’s began at 16%, increased to 41% post-training, to 38% long term.

Began at 2.9 requests per session and increased to 28 post-training.

Kyle began at 20%, increased to 39% post-training, to 39% long term.

Began at 2.8 requests and increased to 27 post-training.

Decrease in problem behavior (out of seat, disruptions)

Jake’s problem behavior began at 14% of intervals and decreased to 5% post trials.

Disruptions decreased from 1.7 to 0.

Kyle’s problem behavior began at 7% of intervals and decreased to .5%.

Disruptions decreased from 12.3 to 2.6.

Limitations of the study

Limitations of the study are that there was a small sample size, three boys, and that all three boys were considered “talkers.” All three boys were capable of increasing their spontaneous speech through the use of PECS, however, other children might not be able to do so. Children who are not able to increase speech production can still use PECS as functional communication. Performing the study again with multiple children with different abilities would be beneficial in proving the effectiveness of PECS across a larger