PICTURE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION

SYSTEM (PECS)Teresa Robinson

EDS 685 Practicum Early Childhood

Special Education

WHAT IS THE PICTURE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (PECS)?

A communication system using pictures to request their wants and needs for those students with little to no verbal language to express themselves.

In Early Childhood Special Education (ECSE) classrooms, the PECS program is implemented with those students diagnosed with Autism, a cognitive impairment, or learning English as a second language.

HOW DO OUR STUDENTS LEARN TO USE PECS?There are six steps in teaching our students how to effectively use the PECS program.

REMEMBER: Prior to using PECS with your students, it is important to take the time to learn about what motivates each of your students- is it a certain toy or activity, a yummy treat, or visiting a certain place in the school.

You will need to take pictures of these different objects, people, or places.

SIX STEPS OF TEACHING PECS IN ECSE CLASSROOMS

STEP 1:The teacher will show the student one of their motivating objects. As the student reaches for the object, the teaching assistant will assist the student pick up the picture and give it to the teacher. When the student hands the picture to teacher, the teacher will say “Oh, you want a _______” and hand the object to the student.

During Step 1, the students will need a lot of practice with having hand over hand assistance until they are able to complete the exchange independently.

Step 2:The students become more independent with the exchange of removing or taking the picture, giving it to the teacher, and the teacher saying “Oh, you want the ______”and giving the object to the student. (Assistance is still provided when necessary)

Step 3:Now, the students have the opportunity to select from two or more pictures to request what they would like. (During Step 3, the PECS binder is introduced.)

Step 4:In Step 4, the students will make a simple sentence using the “I want” picture followed by the picture of the desired item or activity. After the student makes the simple sentence, the teacher will say the simple sentence “I want __________” with the hope the student will use verbal communication too.

Step 5:During Step 5, the students will use PECS to respond to the question “What do you want?” The student will use a sentence strip to answer the teacher’s question. The teacher will always read the sentence strip with the student hoping to encourage language.

Step 6:Now, the students are ready to respond to other questions using sentence starters such as “I hear…..”, “I see…….”, or “I feel…….”.