Contents

1. What is the PECS system?
2. What is a PECS course?
3. PECS training
4. PECS pics and further resources

What is the PECS System?

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) when introduced and practised rigorously is proving very useful to develop communication, particularly in children with autistic spectrum disorders, Some encouraging results are occurring right here in Scotland. The basis of the whole thing is that when a child reaches for something they want, a picture is introduced in between the child and their reached-for desired object or activity. When the child then gives the adult the picture, the adult immediately gives them the thing (or activity) they want. This exchange can take place very quickly, when children are not physically disabled. The process works up from very simple requests to use of complex sentences (in pictures and/or words) but is always based on the exchange principle. The exchange process is a lot easier to describe than to do correctly!

The PECS system is behaviourist - using rewards to reinforce desired behaviours, aim of errorless learning, formal techniques for extinguishing errors etc. - and highly structured. Each step in the instructional process is broken down into tiny highly detailed stages. As well as being a behaviourist instructional approach, PECS is also a specialised form of augmentative & alternative communication AAC. Functional communication is emphasised and prioritised, rather than ‘language’ or curricular targets. There are no prerequisites to entry to this method of communication instruction (eg. picture recognition and symbolic understanding are not required before the start - they are expected to develop throughout the process). All modes of communication are accepted, speech attempts must not be insisted upon (but improved oral speech often occurs, with PECS). PECS is often used alongside the TEACCH approach; it is not an ‘either/or’ scenario.

What is a PECS Course?

PECS courses, with consultants from Pyramid Educational Consultants UK Ltd,were held in CALL in 2001 and 2002, and Follow-Up days have been held at intervals since then. PECS courses are also held in different venues in various locations in Scotland, as well as in England and worldwide..

The piece below should give you an idea of what actually goes on at the PECS course:

“A PECS course was held in the CALL Centre in April 2001, attended by 100 folk from all over Scotland. This was a long, hot two days of sitting down and concentrating hard, but it was well worth it. The presenters were highly professional, gave clear explanations and handouts, and obviously had a wealth of practical experience. They illustrated their teaching with excellent video of real children at various stages of PECS that really brought the whole thing to life and was very convincing. There was time for some ‘hands-on’ practice in pairs which brought home how the theory is one thing but the practice is quite another… (Ideally, you need at least three hands plus eyes in the back of your head as well as excellent coordination and rapid reactions, to manage this approach – the nearest thing to compare it to is juggling!)

In the same week, a ‘follow-up’ day was held, attended by about 40 people who had been on an earlier course and had already got started with introducing and using PECS with children. This was fascinating, as we heard about ‘real life’ successes and problems. Some people find it difficult to get started at all, as they cannot find any truly motivating reward for some children. Apparently the most common mistakes are to slow down the PECS process by trying to get children to do matching tasks instead of immediately exchanging picture for object, and to use verbal instead of physical prompting. Overall, the message was clear –there are no ‘quick fixes’. The suggested solution to many of the problems described was generally to go back to first principles of good PECS practice and to correct errors in learning. I found this an interesting indication that trying to ‘water down’ the highly structured PECS approach or to ‘mix and match’ it with other techniques is often not viable.

A worry we all had at the end of the course was the challenge of convincing and taking the whole staff team with us in order to create the totally consistent communication teaching and learning environment for the child which is necessary if PECS is to work. It may not be easy for staff to appreciate the need for - or to achieve the practice of - rigorous analysis and control of their own behaviour at all times in their interaction with children Without trying to ‘sell’ expensive training courses, one possible solution is to send a whole staff team to the training – PECS does not lend itself to the ‘cascade’ model of dissemination to colleagues. Or at the very least, to make sure a senior teacher accompanies the speech and language therapist to the course – PECS is not an approach that a visiting specialist from outside education could hope to put in place successfully in a school without commitment from school management.

Another worry is the high demand PECS makes on staffing levels. You need two people per child for Phase I of PECS instruction (and sometimes later too) which is extremely difficult to achieve in most Scottish schools. There may be a tendency to ‘adapt’ PECS to fit in with existing school resources and practices. (How) will this work….?”

PECS Training

The central resource for PECS in the UK is Pyramid Educational Consultants UK Ltd. They run the PECS courses, and their website has a wealth of information on PECS. You can buy many resources online from their site. They are at:

To find your nearest/soonest PECS course, link to Pyramid Educational Consultants http://www.pecs.org.uk/

Following the success of PECS courses in CALL in recent years, we may well host a PECS course again. See CALL’s training courses page where you can find out more, download our training booklet and booking form, or even book yourself on a course online!

Pictures for PECS, and further resources

People starting to use PECS need to find sources of pictures to use for the exchange process. They may wish to standardise on a symbol system that is already used across the establishment, such as PCS or Widgit Rebus, but may also wish to supplement these with other images. Useful picture/ symbol software ‘off the shelf’ includes:

• From Pyramid Educational Consultants UK Ltd.
  Pics for PECS 2005 (dual format CD) £30 (latest version) containing 1200 images in .jpg format.
• From Crick Software
  PCS symbols (dual format CD), £80
  3,000+ symbols (same as BoardMaker symbols but importable into other software, eg. Clicker)
• From Don Johnston or Inclusive Technology Ltd.
  Picture This Pro - (dual format CD) with 2,800 clear photos (designed for an autistic child) £55
• BoardMaker (for Mac or PC) full 3,000+ PCS library, £220 NB.or £85 from LT Scotland for schools in Scotland
• From Inclusive Technology Ltd.
  Flash! Pro 2 (PC) over 8,500 photo flashcards £55

Sometimes a child’s motivating ‘rewards’ are highly personalised, so digital photos will be more useful.

Download this more comprehensive CALL article on all the various different pictures and symbol sets.

Get the CALL Centre Information Sheet (50p) Pictures, Clip Art and Other Fun Stuff for Kids with information about useful web sites where you can find picture.

Please contact our Information Officer with questions or comments
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