Research: The Picture Exchange Communication System: Communicative Outcomes for Young Children with Disabilities

Based on the two studies described in this article, the authors conclude that the picture-exchange communication system (PECS) can help children with disabilities communicate better.

This article describes two studies on the effectiveness of PECS. The first study focused on 31 preschool children with severe communication delays, 16 of whom had been diagnosed with autism. The purpose of this study was to determine whether these children could learn to select pictures that described their needs or desires, and hand them to both adults and peers in order to communicate. The children mastered these basics of PECS within 11 months. The second study focused on 18 of the children who had already learned to use PECS during the first study (11 with autism). The second study had two purposes: to determine whether PECS could be used to communicate information other than simple requests, and to observe whether children who had been trained in PECS developed speech. All of the children were able to use PECS to comment on something they experienced, and 8 of the children (6 with autism) developed speech.