Methods Of Modifying ASD Flashcards
Who developed PECS?
Bondy and Frost (1985).
What is the aim of PECS?
To allow those with ASD to improve their functional communication.
What is PECS based on?
Behaviourist principles like reinforcement, shaping and modelling to improve social behaviour, including communication. A core communication deficit is a failure to start conversation, so children with ASD experiences few opportunities to have their communication behaviour reinforced in the usual rewarding manner.
It was designed to help people with ASD make the 1st move in spontaneous convo.
What happens before PECS?
Pre-programme preparation - determining what the child likes and what is rewarding to them. The child is observed in various situations.
The items the child likes will be prioritised in a hierarchy.
What is the first step of PECS?
There is a ‘communicative partner’ and ‘physical prompter’.
It begins with 1 person placed in front of the child, showing them an item they like.
As it reaches for the item, the physical prompter (PP) guides the child to pick up the picture, reach towards the other adults and place it the hand of the other adult (picture exchange).
Once exchanged, child is given the item whilst saying its name.
Repeated.
What is the second step of PECS?
Expanding the use of pictures - the communicative partner gradually moves away from the child to increase their persistence.
A communication folder is introduced to the child which is filled with pictures cards and a pic velcroed on the front.
What is the third step of PECS?
Choosing a message within PECS - the range of pictures increases.
There is only 1 other person as the child has learnt to initiate conversation without physical assistance.
Another pic will be shown of something they don’t like so they learn to have preference when choosing.
What is the fourth step of PECS?
Introducing sentence structure - to teach children to indicate whether they are using a pic as a request/comment using ‘I want/see’.
Taught with a picture representing ‘I want’.
They start to build sentences by creating sentence strips.
Begins with ‘I want’, then guiding the child to point at what they want.
What is the fifth step of PECS?
Teaching answering simple qs - they are asked ‘what do you want?’ After being shown a desired item.
Then they get rid of the desired items and just ask ‘what do you want’ whilst pointing at the ‘I want’ card.
They then learn to request.
What is the sixth step of PECS?
Teaching commenting - range of qs is expanded to give the child the opportunity to comment on their experiences; qs like ‘what do you hear?’
What should people with ASD be able to do after PECS is complete?
Request and comment on things.
What is a strength of the effectiveness of PECS (supporting evidence)?
Charlop-Christy et al (2002) looked at the effects of a PECS programme on speech development in 3 boys with ASD. They had two 15 minute sessions per week. They found all 3 made significantly more spontaneous speech after PECS. 1 went from 28%-100% spontaneous utterances.
However, research only on 3 boys so unlikely to be representative of all those with ASD.
What is a strength of the effectiveness of PECS (ease)?
Easy to use. Charlop-Christy et al showed that ps progressed very quickly, mean of 170 minutes for all 6 steps. Easy as it does not require any skills like eye contact before the training begins so they can make quicker progress. The increases the face validity for people/parents/professionals.
What is a weakness of the effectiveness of PECS (limited support)?
Limited support from meta-analysis. Flippin et al reviewed research from 1994-2009 and evaluated the scientific quality. Their findings only offered limited support. There was no reliable evidence showing that improvements were maintained over time. However, it found that PECS was ‘fairly effective’ in improving communication. Although there’s some evidence suggesting that it’s effective, it may not last over time.
What is strength of the ethics of PECS (boosts mood)?
Boosts self-esteem of the child. The pre-programme preparation that involves identifying the reinforcers the child finds most motivating. So this increases the likelihood of it being successful. So PECS offers families of ASD children the idea of achieving improvements which they haven’t found in other treatments. Rapid progress allows child to feel better about themselves.
What is a weakness of the ethics of PECS (use of extrinsic rewards)?
Using extrinsic rewards may raise ethical qs. Withholding something the child wants until they exchange a pic may be unethical as it can be argued that they should be allowed to access the object when they desire. Also when rewards are removed, it may affect whether desired communication continues without it. Other therapies (Lego) may be more ethical.
What is a negative social implication of PECS (cost)?
It’s expensive. It’s trademarked by Pyramid Educational Consultants. They produce PECS materials - high quality cards and apps. Company says that PECS practitioners should be trained and qualified in a specific programme. Makes it very expensive so the lack of research may mean that PECS is not used as often.
