Implementing PECS within the Mainstream

What makes it hard for children to communicate and why PECS meets these needs

Integrating PECS within the school environment: 4 things to consider

PECS, Phases and implementation

Developing the prosthetic environment

Creating communicative opportunities

Collaboration

Why is it hard for children to communicate?

• Learning new words.• Remembering vocabulary.• Putting longer sentences together.• Understanding new ‘concepts’ (colours, sizes,

shapes, verbs etc).

• Using language socially: for example making requests and sharing information.

• Using language across different settings

How Do these Difficulties Manifest?

Not trying to communicate

Use of non-verbal communication

strategies to communicate

Learned helplessness: “Everything gets done

for me”

No control over their decisions

Self Harm?

Frustration

Lack of experience in communicating

Confrontation, tantrums,

‘behavioural difficulties’

Loss of independence – reliance on others

Why is PECS successful?

• Depends on visual not auditory information.• Permanent vocabulary - words don’t fade away.• Gives visual meaning to abstract vocabulary.• Uses children’s own interests in meaningful

settings.• Encourages independent and ‘social’

communication.• Communication can be successful because it

doesn’t rely solely on language.

Why is PECS successful?

• Language is formulated internally before it is constructed

• Emphasis is on successful, independent communication rather than use of spoken language

• Preliminary studies show that PECS can support spoken language development

• Allows children to rehearse their language before they say it

• Doesn’t rely on pre teaching lots of vocabulary. Children can ‘say what they see’

Aims of successful communication systems

• Integration into the mainstream environment:– Increases independence– Meaningful communication system– Spontaneous communication– Meaningful relationships on an appropriate level– Enabling students to contribute to class lessons

• The child works through 6 phases as part of the structured programme.

• Each phase is completed in sequence before you move onto the next phase.

• Each child moves through the phases at their own pace.

• Social exchanges taught

Picture Exchange Communication System

Teaching PECS phases

Increasing Communicative Opportunities

Developing the Prosthetic Environment

Integrated use of PECS

Joint ownership of planning and evaluation

4 layers needing to be developed simultaneously

Teaching PECS:

Targets and requirements

Phase 1 Preparation

• Commitment to carry out 35+ exchanges a day from staff and/or family

• Accurate re-inforcer assessment

• Put all of the motivators in a box accompanied by symbols

Winners:

Balloons Food Balloons with water inside

Squidgy toys Noise chutes Things with buttons that make a noise

Bubbles instruments Things that flash

Watch what the child does to self occupy

By the end of Phase 1 students will be able to independently hand over a picture to request an object from a range of different people

2 people: at least 1 trained with PECS.

Accurate motivator assessment completed.

35 + structured opportunities for exchanges.

Student’s own motivator box labelled and visible, continuously added to.

Bank of sensory bags.

Moving towards concept of prosthetic environment: PECS book always on display in a consistent place

Activity:• Work in 3’s

• Teacher holds item and open hand out for student

• Prompter waits for student to initiate, if not, then prompt the exchange

• Teacher reinforces IMMEDIATELY

Student Prompter

Teacher

By the end of Phase 2 students will identify who has an object they want, approach them and hand over a picture to request what they want.

2 members of staff: prompter’s role to ensure distance and persistence.

Ongoing use of strong motivators.

May start introducing peer exchanges i.e. at a ‘snack shop’

Begin thinking about communicative temptations corresponding with environmental choice boards (with only 1 displayed symbol though)

By the end of Phase 3 students will be able to look in a communication book, choose from many pictures and take the relevant picture to an adult to make a request.

Use of strong motivators v’s non preferred / contextually irrelevant

Building up a range of familiar activities throughout the day; snack, jigsaws, play (Intensive Interaction Type)

Formalise existing idiosyncratic communication

Communication should be entrenched within all activities

Choice boards can be built up to contain a small range of pictures

Evaluate discrimination through correspondence checks

Preferred item v’s blank symbol

Preferred item v’s non preferred item

Preferred item v’s contextually inappropriate symbol

Preferred item v’s preferred item

Hierarchy when introducing discrimination

Correspondance checks

4 step error correction:

2 or 3 at the most for one error

If student fails a correspondence check then use 4 step error correction

Step Teacher Student

Entice with both items

Gives incorrect picture

Give corresponding item

Reacts negatively

MODEL or SHOW Show or tap picture: student looks at target picture

PROMPT Hold open hand near target picture or physically prompt

Gives target picture

Praise (do not give item)

SWITCH ‘Do this’

Perform switch

REPEAT Entice with both items

Gives correct picture

Praise and give item

4 step error correction Procedure

Activity:• Work in 2’s

Practice 4 step error correction procedure

TeacherStudent

Correspondence checks

STEP TEACHER STUDENT

Entice with both items

Gives picture

‘Take it’, ‘Go Ahead’

Reaches for wrong item

Block Access

MODEL, SHOW or PROMPT

Holds open hand near picture

Gives target picture

Praise (do not give item)

CHANGE ‘Do this’, ‘Touch…’ etc

Performs action

REPEAT Entice with both items

Gives picture

‘Go Ahead’ etc

Takes correct item

Allow access, praise, label

Activity:• Work in 2’s

Practice Correspondence Checks

TeacherStudent

Formalise existing non verbal

communication skills

Teach new communication

skills

Teaching Formal Communication Skills

Can you replace communicative behaviours such as pulling, vocalising ‘negative behaviours’ etc

with PECS?

Is the communication skill you want to teach useful and

motivating for your child?

“Communication has to be motivating” Scot Greathead 2005

Planning on developing a student’s communication

skills.Activity: Deciding on which communication skills you can develop within the classroom setting

1. Decide whether or not you want to teach a new skills or change existing communicative behaviour.

2. Complete a worksheet.

By the end of Phase 4 students will be able to make a sentence from pictures and take it to an adult to make requests.

As before but using sentence strips, should still be reinforcing requests with immediate rewards.

A range of activities across the school day based around play and academic subjects – moving towards requests being an intrinsic part of sessions

Environmental adaptations with corresponding choice boards should be well established to encourage spontaneous communication

Sentence StructureRemove ‘I want’

symbol

Place on the sentence strip

Remove reinforcer symbol

Place on the sentence strip

Remove sentence strip

Give strip to partner

Support:

You can have the ‘I want’ already on the sentence strip so you’re just teaching to bring the reinforcer symbol down first

If student puts pictures in the wrong order then back step

Student points to pictures as teacher speaks: DO NOT DEMAND SPEECH

By the end of Phase 5 you will be able to ask your students ‘What do you want?’ and they will use their communication book to answer you.

As before but introducing a question prompt

Communicative temptations and sabotage should now feature regularly

Communication can become more problem solving i.e. asking what do you want when student are displaying behavioural difficulties, anxiety, stress etc. Needs to be accompanied with symbols though. (ECB’s)

Range of symbols continually extending for each setting – still led by students interests and motivators

By the end of phase 6 students will be commenting on things within their environment using ‘I hear, I see, It’s’

I see + ______

Commenting as a language function may not be spontaneous as the reward is ‘social’. Try to shape a ‘surprise’ response into a comment. Comments therefore need to be tied into the students range of interests:

Contrived settings:

Surprise boxes Photo albums

All About Me Books Commenting Posts

Commenting stations Big Books

Need symbols representing family, friends and characters

I hear + _______

You may want to start with sounds you know the students can identify i.e. listening tapes

Alternating between starters

Instruments in different sized/coloured boxes: student choose box then listen to see if they can name the sound.

Pictures in boxes with coloured shapes on them: student requests shape then names what they see.

Students choose a particular book before a commenting exercise.

Students choose a coloured tape with a particular sound on.

Attributes

• Attributes serve to make request more specific• Allow students to develop additional semantic

information related to a request• Essential that they are generalised across

different settings• Size is relative so may be harder to teach

Making Sentences Longer

I want blue pen

I want red sweet

I want big balloon

I want Tweenies video

I want 3 biscuits

I want wheels on the bus song

I want throw ball

I want triangle paper

I want loud singing

I want cold water

I want yellow drink

I want soft ball

I want small brick

I want play Thom

Communication is learning

Requesting• Choosing cause and

effect toys• Counters within maths• Food within snack• Games within PE• Jigsaw pieces• Contrived opportunities

through sabotage etc

•Try to incorporate elements of communication within each lesson

Commenting• Big books in literacy• ‘All About Me’ Books• ‘Surprise’ game • On the weather• Videos • Computer games

Using Symbols to Develop Expressive Language

No

Yes No

Is your child able to exchange a picture to get a desired response?

Does your child use communication spontaneously across different settings

Develop Vocabulary: Look at existing routines Look at associated

vocabulary

Add attributes: Size, shape, colour,

number, your child’s own.

PECS phase 2 - 3 Adapt the

environment Re-examine

motivators

Work through PECS phases 1

Develop problem solving skills through: Teaching “Help!” Sabotaging routines

Teach Commenting: I see… I hear… I am… It’s…

Create opportunities to comment spontaneously within a ‘natural setting’

Ongoing development of Vocabulary Attributes Combining attributes Problem solving skills

Introduce prompt “What do you want?”

Introduce “How many?”, “What colour? etc

Introduce “What can you hear/see?” “What are you doing?”

Scot Greathead 2005

Extending PECS• Important that PECS is considered to be pupils’

communication system – represents a cultural shift.

Communicating about themselves

• Supporting talking about themselves– All about me books

• I see• Today at school/home I (news sharing)

• Context based commenting boards, mats, big books

• Empowering choices– Interactive schedules– Choice boards– Reflecting on the lesson / day

• I liked/didn’t like

Additional Skills to reinforce PECS

• Critical Communication Skills:

• Requesting ‘Help’

• Requesting ‘I need a break’

• Requesting a reward for ‘I am working for’

• Contributing to ‘interactive schedules’

• Refer to 9 Critical Communication Skills

Colourful Semantics A system for supporting:

spoken and written language comprehension

vocabulary development

literacy hour

• Certain types of words are colour coded – students then use a sequence of colours to guide their sentence construction

• Tied in with commenting posts / windows / big books at Hatton

Supporting Literacy

• Use to prompt language when using sequencing cards

• Developing a sight vocabulary: Fade the size of the picture and increase the size of the text

Developing the prosthetic environment

• An adapted environment aimed at increasing understanding, communication and independence.

• Recognises the differences in the way individuals think and learn - the environment, social demands and attitudes of others may be contributing to difficulties developing communication skills and independence.

• Applies to an environment that favours normalisation.

• Prevent disabilities from becoming handicaps - ‘help to do’ rather than ‘do for’.

• Includes accessible communication systems.

Rita Jordan 2002 - Autistic Spectrum Disorders

The Prosthetic Environment:

A compatible prosthetic environment

Accessible communication systems Commenting prompts

Supporting choice making Labelling ensures a shared understanding

Putting vocabulary into context

Encourage choice making

Context based communication boards

To communicate feelings To bridge communication breakdown

Interactive schedulesStudent involvement in negotiating their own time

Support development of planning, organising and choice making

Increasing Communicative Opportunities

Creating the need to communicate

• The classroom environment:• Consider putting child locks/locking on

cupboard doors etc• Food in containers with tight lids/high on

shelves• Lock doors i.e. restricting access to the • Take control over activities: only let

pupils have a toy for a certain amount of time before they need to ask for it again

Don’t make items accessible:• Motivators on a high shelf/cabinet• Rotate access to toys by putting

them on high shelves in boxes or in boxes with lids on. Mark the boxes with a symbol: children can request them with a corresponding symbol from a choice boards.

• Offer small portions/one item of food at a time to create the need to ask for ‘more’

Creating the need to communicate

Creating the need to communicate

• Always offer choices • Stop co-operating: if you’re playing a repetitive

game, pushing a swing, etc Children will need to communicate they want ‘more’

• Make deliberate mistakes: do something wrong, give children the wrong item. Can they communicate what they wanted?

Sabotage!• Making unexpected changes within a familiar

routine can introduce the need to communicate.• Give work with no pencil, juice carton without a straw

or an unopened bag of crisps.• Putting a favourite toy/food in a clear box with a lid

they can’t open• Hide favourite toys and offer a ‘menu’ of items.• Tell children to do something you know they will

need help with i.e. get a coat which is out of reach• ‘Wait’ – see what happens! Will children bridge the

break in the routine.

Joint Ownership: planning and evaluation

Pupil……………………………………………. Date:……………………………

Use of PECS

Symbols? Photographs Symbols Photograph/symbol mix Text

Phase 1 2 3 a 4 5 6

b

Size Structured Activities Colour Structured activities

Attributes Spontaneously spontaneously

Shape Structured Activities Number Structured activities

Spontaneously spontaneously

Combinations

eg:

No + colour

size + shape

Other and a the please

vocabulary

Settings Snack Dinner PE Soft Play Sherbourne

Sensory Room Curricular Activities Communication Book Home

Key:

Unshaded: Not relevant Diagonal Shading: Working towards Shaded: Achieved

Starters

Structured activities

Structured activities

spontaneously

I am

I haveStructured activities

spontaneouslyIt's

Structured activities

spontaneously

I wantspontaneously

I like/don't likeStructured activities

spontaneously

I seeStructured activities

spontaneouslyI hear

Structured activities

spontaneously

Evaluating PECS

Scot Greathead 2005

Critical Communication Skills

Request Help No With prompts Spontanteosly

Request Break No With prompts Spontaneously

Use a checklist No With prompts Without Support 1 2 3 4 5 6

(number of items)

Use 'I am working for' No With prompts Without support 1 2 3 4 5

(number of tokens)

Responds to 'wait' No With prompts Without support

Key:

Unshaded: Not relevant Diagonal Shading: Working towards Shaded: Achieved

Evaluating Critical Communication Skills

School need to be involved in identifying communicative opportunities, planning, implementation and evaluation of PECS

Scot Greathead 2005

Generalisation within Mainstream• Shared vision and culture

• Training issues?• Requires a dedicated and

evolving prosthetic environment to support independence and develop understanding and use of language

• To successfully integrate PECS into school there needs to be ‘ownership’ and commitment from the school

• Visual support considered an integral part to accessing the curriculum for all students

Involving teachers and parents in implementing

PECS• Generalisation of skills means children learn how to communicate quicker

• Give parents the opportunity and skills to choose which skills they want to develop at home to help communication

• The same, consistent communication system gives a clear message to children about how to communicate

• Can parents feed into Hatton parent workshop sessions?

• HOR build up a bank of session plans to share

Involving teachers and parents in implementing

PECS• Basic understanding required• Better if student is exchanging spontaneously• Is there a commitment to developing a supportive

communicative environment?• Meaningful: careful assessment of setting communication

is to be implemented in • Begin by formalising existing non verbal communication

skills – consider communicative temptations• Video exactly the students are able to do to support

modelling

When is somebody ‘past’ PECS?

Time

Spoken language

Use of PECS

Continues to underpin language learning, choice

making, sentence construction, syntax,

narrative literacy etc May continue alongside colourful

semantics.

Spontaneous language is more frequent but still presents with poor vocabulary, difficulties with word retrieval, reduced sentence lengths

Scot Greathead 2005

Why it is important to maintain PECS skills

• Are students going to have successful opportunities to formulate written sentences at other times?

• To learn language students need to internally process and independently formulate grammar and syntax

• Supports independent learning: students can rehearse at the own pace

• Culture supports visual representations of language ‘as the norm’

• Link in with schemes like colourful semantics• Use as a vehicle for teaching syntax and grammar• Good for students’ status