BEST. THING. EVER!!! I didn't use an official program at first- I just wanted a way to get Chelsea to express her needs.
Our First PECS cards:
1. I took pictures of some of her favorite things
2. I put the pictures on cardstock
3. I labeled the pictures (keep up that early literacy)
4. Laminate!
5. Attach magnets to the back
I put several of these cards low on the fridge where she could reach them even before she could walk, and she would come give me the picture of what we wanted.
Immediately after she gave me the card, she would get that item! I wanted to really emphasize to her that communicating will be rewarded!
Wait, Won't That Delay "Real" Communication?
Not at all. PECS does count as communication- she is sending information about her needs, and I understand it. Additionally, there are lots of ways you can use this to
When Chelsea would come give me a card, I would model the language, "Oh! I see you want cottage cheese!" then have her either do the sign for what she wanted with hand over hand, or do the first sound of that word.
So we got in the visual cue (card), auditory cue (the correctly modeled word/ her saying the sound), AND a tactile cue (the sign language!). The BEST way to learn is through a multi-sensory approach.
The Next Step
After several weeks of using this system, Chelsea handed me a card while her early intervention speech therapist was visiting, and the SLP introduced me to the official PECS system.
With her help, I made a binder that had several different categories, each with their own page. So we had an activites page, a family page, a feelings page, a couple food pages, and things like that.
The idea here is to expand the language. So start with the "I want" picture and then put on the picture of the desired item/ activity. Eventually, the child is supposed to work their way up to forming complete sentences.
Our Results:
PECS worked great for us for about 2 years. After Chelsea was 3, she really started to pick up sign language, and we focused on that and speech, and dropped the PECS.
The pros for dropping PECS- sign language is much faster and you don't have to carry around a big binder everywhere.
The cons- not everyone understands sign language. In fact, very few people do. So even though it was faster for her to sign, she had a smaller group of people that understood her. Everyone can understand a picture with words on it.
The Next Step
After several weeks of using this system, Chelsea handed me a card while her early intervention speech therapist was visiting, and the SLP introduced me to the official PECS system.
With her help, I made a binder that had several different categories, each with their own page. So we had an activites page, a family page, a feelings page, a couple food pages, and things like that.
The idea here is to expand the language. So start with the "I want" picture and then put on the picture of the desired item/ activity. Eventually, the child is supposed to work their way up to forming complete sentences.
Our Results:
PECS worked great for us for about 2 years. After Chelsea was 3, she really started to pick up sign language, and we focused on that and speech, and dropped the PECS.
The pros for dropping PECS- sign language is much faster and you don't have to carry around a big binder everywhere.
The cons- not everyone understands sign language. In fact, very few people do. So even though it was faster for her to sign, she had a smaller group of people that understood her. Everyone can understand a picture with words on it.
A Couple Tips:
- Don't just use one kind of picture. Alternate real photographs and clip art type of pictures so your child will learn that either can be used for communication.
- There are kids who only used photographs, then won't respond to or use cartoon pictures
- Only put out the cards you are willing to give right away when first starting. There will be lots of frustration otherwise
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