PECS Alternative Communication Method

Each of us has a vital need for communication. Many children with autism are practically unable to communicate, it is difficult for them to address people around them with requests, complaints, with the desire to share impressions. The communication process is very complex and abstract for them. They are not “lazy” when they don’t say words or communicate, they just don’t know how to do it.

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Each of us has a vital need for communication. Many children with autism are practically unable to communicate, it is difficult for them to address others with requests, complaints, with the desire to share impressions. The communication process is very complex and abstract for them. They are not “lazy” when they don’t say the words and communicate, they just don’t know how to do it.

This programme does not teach oral language directly, however, this training does promote speech development in a child with autism – some children begin to use spontaneous speech after starting the PECS programme.

PECS is taught in the child’s natural environment, in the classroom or at home, during the child’s typical activities of the day. Teaching the child to communicate in this way occurs using positive behavioural support, which is called the pyramid approach. Teaching techniques include various ABA strategies such as chaining, prompting, modelling and environmental modifications.

The PECS system allows the concept of “communication” or “communication” to be defined in a way that is accessible to a child with autism. “Communication is an exchange that requires a communicative partner. That is, the child, cannot say something into the air and out of the air will appear what he wants to receive. The child must “address” – approach the partner, attract the partner’s attention, and state his/her request in an accessible (for the child) and understandable (for the partner) way. And then the partner will provide the child with what he or she has asked for.

The main advantages of using the RECS system:

RECS is a programme that enables the rapid acquisition of basic functional communication skills.
RECS can more quickly teach a child to take initiative and spontaneously say words than teaching object naming, vocal imitation, or gaze reinforcement.
With PECS, the child’s communication with others becomes more accessible and thus the generalisation of acquired verbal skills becomes possible.

The PECS teaching system consists of several phases, each with a different goal:

introduction to communication – the adult teaches the child to communicate using cards,
perseverance and overcoming the distance for communication – increasing the pupil’s independence: he/she must learn to show the card by himself/herself, without the help of an adult,
choosing the right image – the child learns to choose the image himself from a variety of others,
sentence structure – the pupil places the image of the object on the sentence strip that says “I want”,
asking in response to a question – using this strip, the child learns to answer the question “What do you want?”
commenting – the child learns to answer other questions.

From this, children with autism are not “lazy when they don’t say words or communicate, they just don’t know how to do it, and alternative methods of communication like RECS teach them this. Far from inhibiting spoken language development, the use of RECS accelerates it – by planning verbal and visual stimulus into the exchange. Yes, a child with cards looks unusual, but it is better to let the child communicate with peers with the help of cards and acquire social skills than not to communicate at all.