Picture Exchange Communication System

The study in this journal article was conducted to see if the experimenters could detect the efficacy of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) presented in the acquisition of self-regulating communicative initiation and continuation skills to children who have been diagnosed with autism (Odluyurt, Aldemir & Kapan, 2016).

The following research questions were asked, “1. Are the first and second phases of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) provided to children with autism effective in teaching independent communicative initiation and maintenance skills? 2. Provided that independent communication initiation and maintenance skills can be taught, will the permanency of such skills remain unaffected one and two weeks later?

153). The independent variable of the study was to execute the first as well as the second phase of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) which is characteristically applied through education of both communicative initiation as well as maintenance skills (Odluyurt, Aldemir & Kapan, 2016). The dependent variables were to measure how many correct response levels were recorded in the independent communicative initiation as well as maintenance skills found in the children instructed in the study along with the acquisition levels of the observational learning of the autistic participants who were not included in the initial execution part of this study (Odluyurt, Aldemir & Kapan, 2016). The experimental procedure was performed in the setting of a group-teaching classroom which the third author authorized in the university unit which included a classroom size of 6 x 5 meters that contained a cabinet that was complete with tools and equipment needed for the experiment along with one wallboard as well as one smart board with the inclusion of the necessary amount of desks and chairs for the children to sit in while the baseline, intervention and maintenance sessions were conducted (Odluyurt, Aldemir & Kapan, 2016). At the same time, the generalization sessions were being implemented by other implementers in the cafeteria that resided in the unit building and play-room (Odluyurt, Aldemir & Kapan, 2016). Coupled with the setting, the materials which included the following were placed in the room: toy or food reinforcers, one file, some 3x3 cm picture cards, one camera with its tripod and the necessary data collection forms to record reliable data from the