Background & aims: Although the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been demonstrated to be an effective intervention to teach people diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder a functional communication system, the research indicates variability in PECS outcomes across people and studies. Therefore, the purpose of the current study…

Motor learning principles guide treatment of childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). Previous studies found children to benefit from higher-intensity conditions; however, they did not control for the total amount of therapy time. The aims of the article are to examine the effects of high versus low treatment frequency in intervention for CAS in…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of different speech-generating device displays and vocabulary organizations on the acquisition of multi-step requesting responses in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four young children with ASD were taught to use an iPad® application to make requests using both a taxonomically…

Purpose: This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of a conversation-based intervention on the expressive vocabulary and grammatical skills of children with severe motor speech disorders and expressive language delay who use augmentative and alternative communication. Method: Eight children aged from 8 to 13 years participated in the study.…

Students with visual impairment (VI) were taught to request using the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and tangible symbols. Participants were four males with additional disabilities, 5 to 11 years old, who had little to no functional vision. A functional relation between PECS Phase 1 and requesting was established using a multiple…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often have difficulty generalizing newly acquired communication skills to different contexts. In this study, a multiple baseline across settings (clinic, school, and home) design was used to determine whether an 8-year-old boy with ASD could learn to approach communication partners to request…

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) program used to teach functional requesting and commenting skills to people with disabilities (Bondy & Frost, 1993; Frost & Bondy, 2002). In this study, tangible symbols were added to PECS in teaching requesting to four students (ages 7-14) with…

The present study examined the extent to which mothers were able to train their children, 2 boys with autism, to exchange novel pictures to request items using the picture exchange communication system (PECS). Generalization probes assessing each child's ability to mand for untrained items were conducted throughout conditions. Using a multiple…

Research related to the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) with individuals having autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) was examined using a communication competence paradigm detailed by J. C. Light (1988, 1989, 2003). Communication components were operationalized based on skills identified in ASD research. A review was conducted…

Designed for teaching the related services staff, residential care providers, and families of individuals with severe hearing and vision impairments, this booklet explains the issues related to developing a communication system using textures. The texture symbols described are intended for use by individuals with dual sensory and multiple…

Six individuals (ages 10 to 44) with communication disorders who used augmentative and alternative communication were provided instruction on the acquisition, generalization, and long-term maintenance of partner-focused questions. Instruction used least-to-most prompting hierarchy in real-world interactions and simulations. All subjects learned…