How a Picture Exchange Communications System can help your autistic child

Also, check out the free online support groups that AANE offers to autistic teens

March 19, 2024

Hi, there!

Autistic children generally have difficulty with communication, and that is especially true for those who are non-verbal, primarily echolalic or have limited speech abilities. For those children, a Picture Exchange Communications System, or PECS, can really help their ability to communicate.

In this week’s post on Autism & ADHD Connection, read about how a Picture Exchange Communications System can help your autistic child.

PECS allows autistic children, especially those who are non-verbal, to use picture or word cards to ask questions, respond or say things. As children use the picture cards to communicate their wants and needs, they are awarded with the items or tasks they request. This helps to facilitate better communication.

My son J was highly verbal, so he didn’t use PECS as a system. However, his speech teacher in elementary school did use elements of PECS to teach him social skills, create social stories and use the picture cards to develop visual schedules for him.

I hope this blog post provides some key information about PECS for you to determine if this system could help your child, and also point you in the direction of finding a trained facilitator to teach it to you and your child if you’d like to try it.

Inspirational Quote

“Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.”

― Emily Dickinson

Resources Available

Are you looking for a support group for your autistic teen? The Association for Autism and Neurodiversity (AANE) offers free online support groups for teens. You can check out their schedule and free resources on the AANE website. Note that you will need to check often because they list only the groups or events coming up for the next month or so.

If you ever need to contact me, send me an email at info@autismadhdconnection.com. I’d love to hear from you.

Take care and best wishes for the coming week!

Tamara McGuire Hull