Does your child or learner exhibit delays in speech? If your learner is at a young age, you might try to work on increasing their vocabulary on your own. However, sometimes you might practice with them to produce a vocal sound, but it might not be a full word or only an approximation of that word.
While you might understand the approximation, others might not know what the learner is referring to. I always let caregivers know that it is still good to practice with your learner how to produce those vocal approximations. One thing that can enhance the learning process is to add a method of communication. There are various routes the learner can use to communicate, such as the AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) device and PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System).
Both methods are beneficial and can be used depending on whether you would prefer a technological or 2D picture route. If you prefer using 2D pictures as a method of communication, then this blog post is meant for you. To teach PECS, there are 6 phases that your learner must learn and master to retain their knowledge and become fluent in using PECS. For this blog post, we will be focusing on Phase I and II of teaching PECS.
Phase I of PECS – Learning How to Communicate
Phase I focuses on teaching the learner that an exchange happens when they give a single card to a person to trade for an item they want. It’s great if you can start with a preference assessment, so you know what the learner is motivated for. Start with pairing.
Before starting Phase I, be sure to have the following items prepared:
1. The learners preferred reinforcers (items/activities/edible snacks) be ready
2. 1 Blank card
3. Picture cards of those preferred reinforcers (this will come later for Phase I)
4. 2 clinicians
Once you have these items ready, start with errorless learning to teach your learner to pick up the blank card, reach for you, and release the card into your open hand. 1 clinician sits behind the learner, so they can prompt the learner. When the learner releases the card into your open hand, immediately provide the reinforcer.
This way, the learner is making a connection that exchanging the card leads to what they want. In terms of distance for Phase I, you and the learner will be right next to each other to successfully exchange the card with the item. Once the learner is consistently exchanging the blank card with you into your open hand, you will do the exchange with a closed hand. When the learner is consistently exchanging the blank card with your closed hand, you will change the blank card to the picture card. Keep note that you will still only use 1 card at a time.
If you are not practicing and your learner is providing you with a card for an incorrect item they are requesting, still praise them. A current kiddo I’m working with would hand me a ball card when he was reaching for a book. While the picture was not the correct item, I praised him by saying, “Thank you for handing me the card, now you can have the book.” Remember, Phase I is all about the exchange and not the accuracy of the card.
Phase II of PECS – Distance and Persistence
Once the learner is consistently exchanging the card for the preferred item, you can then work on increasing the distance between:
· The learner and the person
· The card and the learner
When teaching PECS Phase II, the goal is for the learner to reach the person and the card at a maximum distance of 10 feet. Start with increasing the distance between yourself and the learner. The card will still be next to the learner within eyesight as you set your distance.
With one of my kiddos, we increase the distance 1 foot at a time and move to the next foot when he mastered the previous one consistently. Once your learner has mastered providing the card to you at 10 feet, you will then start doing the same with the card 1 foot at a time. When the learner can consistently retrieve the card from 10 feet away and hand it to you when you are 10 feet away, only then can the learner proceed to Phase III of PECS.
Stay tuned for the next blog post where we dive into Phase III and IV of PECS!
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