The Picture Exchange Communication System, or PECS, allows people with little or no communication abilities to communicate using pictures. People using PECS are taught to approach another person and give them a picture of a desired item in exchange for that item.

What is PECS ®? Developed by Andy Bondy, PhD & Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP PECS is a unique alternative/augmentative communication system developed in the USA in 1985 by Andy Bondy, PhD, and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP. PECS was first implemented with pre-school students diagnosed with autism at the Delaware Autism Program. Since then, PECS has successfully been implemented worldwide with thousands of learners of all ages who have various cognitive, physical and communication challenges. The PECS teaching protocol is based on B.F. Skinner’s book, Verbal Behavior, and broad spectrum applied behavior analysis. Unwrella serial keygen.

Specific prompting and reinforcement strategies that will lead to independent communication are used throughout the protocol. The protocol also includes systematic error correction procedures to promote learning if an error occurs. Verbal prompts are not used, thus building immediate initiation and avoiding prompt dependency. PECS consists of six phases and begins by teaching an individual to give a single picture of a desired item or action 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 use modifiers, answer questions and comment.

The primary goal of PECS is to teach functional communication. Research has shown that some learners using PECS also develop speech. Others may transition to a speech generating device (SGD). The body of research supporting the effectiveness of PECS as an evidence-based practice is substantial and continues to expand,.

This intensive two-day interactive training is designed to teach educational teams and parents the theory and protocol for the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), an evidence based practice. We begin with identifying key components to designing effective educational environments that foster communication.

Through presenter demonstrations, video examples and role-play, you will learn the six phases of PECS, including how to teach spontaneous requests, attributes for expanding language, responding to questions and commenting. The workshop concludes with discussions about the relation between PECS and speech as well as criteria for transitioning from PECS to other communication modalities, such as speech generating devices (SGD). What you will learn. • Identify key components to designing an enriched learning environment using the Pyramid Approach to Education.