23TRA579 The Picture Exchange Communication System

BEFORE BOOKING PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS COURSE IS NON REFUNDABLE

Participants are required to attend all 5 sessions and be live on camera. These sessions will not be recorded.

DATES:    8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th November, 6th December 2023
TIMES:     2.00pm - 5.00pm
VENUE:   Online via Zoom (**Participants will be sent the Zoom link a week before the training commences)

Pyramid Educational Consultants are the only official training provider of The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the Pyramid Approach in the UK and Ireland. We provide exceptional training and in-house support for communication, functional skill development and behavioural issues. We aim to support families and professionals to improve the skills and lives of people with communication difficulties.

The Picture Exchange Communication System is a successful approach that uses pictures to develop communication skills. It is appropriate for children and adults with a wide range of learning and communication difficulties including autism. Easy to access, affordable to implement and scientifically supported as one of the most effective communication interventions, PECS is an opportunity to open the door to spontaneous communication.

The company was founded in 1992 by Andy Bondy, PhD., and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP, developers of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and the Pyramid Approach to Education. They developed these practices with a focus on functional communication, learning, and designing teaching strategies to support learners in their everyday environments and activities. As the company expanded across the United States and into other countries, more and more learners of all ages, along with their families, teachers, and support teams, benefited and continue to benefit from PECS and the Pyramid Approach.

Our team now spans the globe and is made up of professionals from a variety of backgrounds who share a passion for giving people of all ages the skills that will help them navigate their lives in the present and in the future. We provide training in a wide range of topics, including PECS, the Pyramid Approach to Education, communication, and behaviour. We offer consultation in home, school, work and community settings, to help you and your team figure out what strategies will best suit your learner.

PECS©
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was developed in 1985 as a unique augmentative/alternative training package that teaches children and adults with autism and other communication deficits to initiate communication. First used at the Delaware Autistic Program, PECS has received worldwide recognition for focusing on the initiation component of communication. PECS does not require complex or expensive materials. It was created with educators, resident care providers and families in mind, and so it is readily used in a variety of settings.

PECS is an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) with over 190 published articles providing evidence of its effectiveness. See the full list of research articles HERE . A table showing the list of identified evidence-based practises found within the PECS protocol can be found HERE

PECS begins with teaching a student to exchange a picture of a desired item with a “teacher”, who immediately honours the request. The training protocol is based on B.F. Skinner’s book, Verbal Behaviour so that functional verbal operants are systematically taught using prompting and reinforcement strategies that will lead to independent communication Verbal prompts are not used, thus building immediate initiation and avoiding prompt dependency. The system goes on to teach discrimination of symbols and then how to put them all together in simple sentences. In the most Level 2 Phases, individuals are taught to comment and answer direct questions. Many preschoolers using PECS also begin developing speech

PECS AT A GLANCE
PHASE I Teaches students to initiate communication right from the start by exchanging a single picture for a highly desired item.

PHASE II Teaches students to be persistent communicators- to actively seek out their pictures and to travel to someone to make a request.

PHASE III Teaches students to discriminate pictures and to select the picture that represents the item they want.

PHASE IV Teaches students to use sentence structure to make a request in the form of “I want _____.”

PHASE V Teaches students to respond to the question “What do you want?”

PHASE VI Teaches students to comment about things in their environment both spontaneously and in response to a question.

EXPANDING VOCABULARY Teaches students to use attributes such as colours, shapes and sizes within their requests.

The system has been successful with adolescents and adults who have a wide array of communicative, cognitive and physical difficulties. The foundation for the system is the PECS Training Manual, 2nd Edition, written by Lori Frost, MS, CCC/SLP and Andrew Bondy, PhD. The manual provides all of the necessary information to implement PECS effectively. It guides readers through the six phases of training and provides examples, helpful hints and templates for data and progress reporting. This training manual is recognised by professionals in the fields of communication and behaviour analysis as an effective and practical guide to one of the most innovative systems available.

PECS is especially successful if appropriately combined with elements of behaviour analysis. The manual offers many suggestions on assessing reinforcers, teaching strategies, fading prompts and other issues. The authors encourage PECS users to create an environment that enhances and encourages communication using the Pyramid Approach to Education. The manual briefly outlines the Pyramid and how it can be established in various settings.

Speaker: Accredited PECS Trainer