Picture Exchange Communication System - Effectiveness

Effectiveness

There is evidence that PECS is easily learned by most students, with its primary benefit being a means for communication by children and adults who have little or no speech due to autism or other developmental disabilities. "PECS is recommended as an evidence-based intervention for enhancing functional communication skills of individuals with ASD (autism spectrum disorder)." In the first empirical study of PECS, three children with autism were able to learn to use PECS and, more significantly, showed gains in verbal speech. The finding that PECS may help rather than hinder the development of speech was confirmed by a 2010 review of several peer-reviewed studies found that "there is no evidence within the reviewed studies to suggest that PECS inhibited speech; to the contrary, if any effect was observed, it was facilitative rather than inhibitory." When difficulties do arise, it is often due to a lack of powerful reinforcers and/or trainer error.
In addition, research by Ganz and Simpson on the use of PECS revealed increases in intelligible words spoken and the complexity of sentences in children with ASD. The children’s increase in speech was not limited to interactions with their teacher but was generalized to other adults in their environment, showing potential for the children to expand communicative behavior. This study concludes “that aided AAC systems, such as PECS, may be efficacious in encouraging speech in individuals with ASD.”
Research suggests that PECs has additional positive benefits, including improvement of social communication skills and decreased problem behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities. Research has further suggested that PECS facilitates increases in functional communication skills, increases in spoken utterances, including increases in mean length of utterance (MLU), as well as decreases in contextually inappropriate behaviors. The current consensus view of PECS is that it is well-supported by academic research and is now used by many educators and families of special needs individuals.