PECS: The Picture Exchange Communication System [Ring-bound]

Lori Frost (Author), Andrew Bondy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

The Picture Exchange Communication System( PECS) is a unique augmentative/ alternative communication training package developed for use with young children with autism and other social- communication deficits. It has been used with hundreds of young children with autism and other disabilities around the United States and in several other countries. It is a system that does not require complex materials or highly technical training.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lori Frost is the co- developer of PECS, and has developed a number of training packages designed to teach language and academic skills to children with autism. Lori is well known in her field as a leader in functional communication training. Dr. Bondy,received his Ph.D from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Bondy and Lori Frost have presented worldwide on the Pyramid Approach and Picture Exchange Communication System. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Ring-bound: 396 pages
• Publisher: Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc.; 2nd edition (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1928598056
• ISBN-13: 978-1928598053
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,409 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pecs - the picture exchange communication system, March 24, 2000

By 

Natalie (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Picture Exchange Communication System (Spiral-bound)

I have a 3 year old nonverbal , autistic child. We had heard of this system through a teacher and bought this book. In six months our son now shows us pictures in sentence structures due to this book. it has changed our lives. A brilliant book . Dont miss it

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The PECS System, October 20, 2004

By 

Bonnie Sayers "autismfamily" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Picture Exchange Communication System (Spiral-bound)

This consists of Phase I - VI, Additional Concepts, Other Goodies and Appendices covering about seventy-five pages. Each phase has three sections, The environment, the training steps and helpful hints.

Phase I - The physical exchange,Phase II - Expanding Spontaneity

Phase III - Picture Discrimination, Phase IV - Sentence Structure, Phase V - Responding to "What do you want?", Phase VI - Responsive and Spontaneous Commenting

PECS was first developed for use with preschool children with autism that had little or no speech. For the first phase there needs to be a reinforcer assessment. This means picking five to eight edibles that the child/student likes. The items preferred would be picked within five seconds. For those items that were picked at least three times remove them and conduct assessment with remaining items. This continues until a pool of three to five preferred items have been determined.

There are diagrams explaining how this system works. The process starts as backward chaining with the trainers delaying the verbal praise until the student has released the picture into the open hand of the trainer. The helpful hints in this first phase discuss finding the right symbol system.

Some will use black and white line drawings or product logos. Then the size of the photo is determined, usually two-inch. The trainer should wear a apron or waist pack to keep the pictures in and purchase lots of velcro!

Phase II has the trainer moving further away from the student and have the student remove the card from the board and hand to the trainer. The trainer can get up to make the student than have to stand up to hand the card. Verbal praise is continued with reinforcement while the exchange is in motion. A helpful hint is now to have a three-ring binder for the cards, as you move to more pictures.

A diagram in the book shows how this process is done in an easy to understand format. Picture-take picture to materials-materials (no interruptions)-take materials to work area (no interruptions)-activity(no interruptions)-get reward-finish activity-get reward-put materials away-take picture-go back to schedule.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PECS Training Manual, November 5, 2009

By 

Claire W - See all my reviews

This review is from: PECS: The Picture Exchange Communication System (Ring-bound)

The Second Edition, PECS Training Manual is a must read for anyone that wants to learn how to implement PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) successfully with their student or child. The manual provides comprehensive instructions on how to implement PECS and begins with a description of the Pyramid Approach to Education (which you will learn is the foundation for creating all PECS lessons).

PECS is comprised of 6 different phases plus attributes (Phase I- "How" to Communicate; Phase II- Distance & Persistence; Phase III- Picture Discrimination; Phase IV- Sentence Structure; Attributes; Phase V- Responding to "What do you want?"; Phase VI- Commenting). There is a chapter for each phase of PECS. Within each chapter, the reader is provided with easy to follow, step-by-step instructions. In addition, each chapter offers a section to point out helpful hints and a section that provides answers to many Frequently Asked Questions related to each phase of PECS. In addition to the chapters focusing on the phases of PECS, there are multiple chapters that offer valuable information related to Visual Reinforcement Systems, Critical Communication Skills, the 4-Step Error Correction and other topics.

The manual is a great resource that offers many appendices with valuable data sheets, worksheets and checklists. Many of these pages are able to be reproduced for future use within your classroom or home. As an added bonus, a PECS Data Forms CD comes along with the training manual. The CD contains many of the data sheets and forms that are available within the manual and additional forms that I found to be useful.

Authors Bondy and Frost are brilliant! I can't thank them enough for creating such a wonderful, functional communication system and writing such a wonderful training manual! If you like this book, you should check out some of the other books that have been written by Bondy and/or Frost:

Autism 24/7: A Family Guide to Learning at Home and in the Community (Topics in Autism#

A Picture's Worth: PECS and Other Visual Communication Strategies in Autism #Topics in Autism)

The Pyramid Approach to Education in Autism