An overview of the Picture Exchange System and how it can be used to support young people with communication difficulties within a classroom

1. Implementing PECS within the Mainstream

2. 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

4. 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

9. 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

14. 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)

15. 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

16. 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

17. 4 step error correction Procedure Praise and give item Gives correct picture Entice with both items REPEAT Perform switch ‘ Do this’ SWITCH Praise (do not give item) Gives target picture Hold open hand near target picture or physically prompt PROMPT Show or tap picture: student looks at target picture MODEL or SHOW Reacts negatively Give corresponding item Gives incorrect picture Entice with both items Student Teacher Step

19. Correspondence checks Allow access, praise, label Takes correct item ‘ Go Ahead’ etc Gives picture Entice with both items REPEAT Performs action ‘ Do this’, ‘Touch…’ etc CHANGE Praise (do not give item) Gives target picture Holds open hand near picture MODEL, SHOW or PROMPT Block Access Reaches for wrong item ‘ Take it’, ‘Go Ahead’ Gives picture Entice with both items STUDENT TEACHER STEP

21. 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

23. 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

24. Sentence Structure Remove ‘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

25. 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

27. 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.

31. Scot Greathead 2005

37. Developing the prosthetic environment

39. A compatible prosthetic environment Accessible communication systems Commenting prompts Supporting choice making Labelling ensures a shared understanding

40. Putting vocabulary into context Encourage choice making

41. Context based communication boards To communicate feelings To bridge communication breakdown

42. Interactive schedules Student involvement in negotiating their own time Support development of planning, organising and choice making

48. Joint Ownership: planning and evaluation

49. Evaluating PECS Scot Greathead 2005

50. Evaluating Critical Communication Skills School need to be involved in identifying communicative opportunities, planning, implementation and evaluation of PECS Scot Greathead 2005

54. 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