Picture Exchange Communication Case Studies

Introduction
Put yourself in the shoes of six-year-old Kimmy Smile. Kimmy has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism is a disorder of brain development that affects the social skills, verbal language, and behaviour of individuals. 6-year-old Kimmy is non-verbal meaning she can't use spoken language to communicate in meaningful ways. Kimmy also faces challenges with problem behaviour at school and has difficulties with her social skills. Kimmy is not the only child that is faced with these everyday challenges. In fact, Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is one of the most common developmental disabilities in Canada. Approximately 1 in 68 children are diagnosed with Autism. Many children with Autism have a delayed or absent of speech just like Kimmy. To help support children with Autism communicate with the world around them a variety of approaches for teaching alternative communication skills have been developed. …show more content…
To understand why the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is the best for helping children with Autism we need to understand what PECS is and how it works. “The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is one of the main alternative communication system used for individuals with social communication deficits (Flippin, Reszka, Watson 2010).” PECS was developed for individuals who are non-verbal, can't use language in meaningful ways or who are minimally verbal communicators with an alternative communication system (Skill). The Pictorial Exchange Communication System (PECS) allows children to develop a means of communication by using picture cards to interact with the world around them; just as typically developing children use spoken language to interact with the world. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PEC) is a behavioral based pictorial communication system that uses the behavioural based principles of reinforcement, delay, and generalization to shape children's