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Against the Indiscriminate use of PECS with Autistic children

Anne Gresswell has presented twice at Communication Matters Symposiums on this. She describes how PECS were originally intended to be used as a stepping stone to more effective solutions for clients who failed with more complex systems initially, and how to move children on from PECS to voice output communication aids.

Anne's article 'The Appropriate Use of PECS?' was first published in Communication Matters Journal Vol 20 No 1, April 2006, and is one of the articles that have been transferred to CM's new online searchable resource - Communication Matters eLibrary. You can read Anne's paper in full at:

http://www.communicationmatters.org.uk/elibrary/articles/2/1/The-Appropriate-Use-of-PECS/Page1.htm

 

Why are voice output communication aids so good for children on the autistic spectrum? A PRC project.

The two success profiles below include links to video clips of the children 'at work' in various settings:

http://www.prentrom.com/profile%20campaign/index.html Tyson

The McLeans first learned of the Pathfinder through a study conducted by PRC's John Halloran at The Learning Center in Jonesboro, where Tyson was a preschooler. The study sought to demonstrate how using the Pathfinder could encourage children with autism to start using language.

http://www.prentrom.com/profile%20campaign/joey1.html Joey:

"Joey is becoming more and more reliant on his Vantage with his expressive communication, which in turn decreases his frustration." "Because of Joey's developmental delays, we never thought he would be able to communicate coherent sentences to us," says Joey's mother, Hazel Tabile. "Now he actually asks for 'kisses' and tells each member of the family, 'I love you.' As a parent, just hearing that from your son who doesn't talk is plain magic.

 

Posing a 'good question' and using it to search medical databases for research and evidence - Ralph Schlosser on Evidence-Based Practice:

When demonstrating how to search well known medical databases for the most recent and/or best evidence (sometimes the best is an old one) by posing a 'good question', Ralph used as his case study a four years old boy with autism whose parents were concerned that a voice output device might hinder their child's natural speech development.

He found no evidence that voice output devices hinder speech developing and some evidence that voice output actually promotes any inherent potential to speak that the child has.

The results also proved a hierarchy of effectiveness in AAC intervention methods, with voice output speech generating devices coming out on top.

These search results bear out the results of PRC's work with autisic children, some of whom start to use language and speak for themselves and only need a communication aid for a period of time.

 

Dispel those bad myths and start doing something right for our kids

When AAC is new, anyone in a given scenario may be sway to a number of 'beginner's myths' that are just a sad fact of life, but which must be attacked and dispelled, as they are so damaging to children who deserve us to do better for them.

Myths I have heard personally from professionals working with special needs children, when I was trying to promote AAC and the CAP Project:

"Well it's not suitable for everyone, especially not the autistic children."

"But [CHILD] can say a few words, and it might hinder her speech."

One of these quotes was from a special needs head teacher and the other from a SENCO. Anyone new to the benefits of using high tech AAC with a particular population can at first be ignorant of its potential. We all have something to learn.

 

New: 'Challenging our belief systems regarding people with autism and AAC: Making the least harmful assumptions'

Joanne M. Cafiero, featured columnist for April/May 2007 at Closing the Gap: http://www.closingthegap.com/ cites in her article (article is now in the archives, which need a subscription or 14-day free trial to access):

"...in 1943, when Dr Leo Kanner first described individuals with ASD, he stated, “even though most of these children were looked upon, at one time or another as feebleminded, they are all unquestionably endowed with good cognitive potentialities.” ...

...In a sample of children collected by Greenspan(1992), it was found that half of all children with ASD had severe motor planning dysfunction. This means that they could not show what they know. Adults with ASD report that they feel an actual “inertia” and are often unable to initiate an action. (Sullivan, 2002). AAC requires motor planning and practitioners must address this difficulty in both the assessment and intervention process."

 

Breaking the Barriers - FACT (Facilitated Communication Therapy)

People on the spectrum write about their lives both before and after Facilitated Communication intervention in the 'Personal Stories' section of 'Breaking the Barriers' homepage at:

http://www.breaking-the-barriers.org/breaking-the-barriers/index.htm.

I've seen Facilitated Communication being used to remedy this inertia, where the facilitator withdrew the client's hand from the keyboard between each keystroke but it was definitely the client who did the typing.

 

The following information was posted to the Family Centre on Technology and Disability (FCTD) Online Discussion for April 2007. April's discussion topic is "Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and Vocabulary Building" with Dr Katya Hill from Pittsburgh University and Robin Hurd from AAC Institute, and so the focus is on vocabulary issues for AAC users rather than any other related issues, but useful ideas resources are getting a mention and the following post is very relevant to our page here:

 

        • Re:AAC and Cognitive Limitations by Sandra McClennen on Apr 08, 2007
          I am pleased to see the "Breaking the Barriers" site referenced. My experience is that facilitated communication often allows communication to people for whom no other approach has worked. Most of these people experience autism. In some cases, a person who began with facilitated communication has developed speech. [At the site: http://suedweb.syr.edu/thefci/ go to Publications and Videos and look for “Inside the Edge”: A Journey to Using Speech Through Typing" written and narrated by Jamie Burke.] In more and more cases, people who began typing with support at the wrist (though they make all movement toward the keyboard when facilitation is done correctly) are now typing independently. [For example, at the same website, look for "Autism Is a World" written by Sue Rubin, who now types independently. "Every Step of the Way" documents how this journey proceeds with three people. There are other fascinating videos described, also.]

          At the website of the Autism National Committee (www.autcom.org), the Bookstore includes many books written by people with autism, some of whom communicate through typing and who document their journey from needing physical support to independent typing.

          Some of my clients who were thought for a few or many years to have great cognitive limitations are now doing grade level work. Because they are typing with support by a number of different school staff, and their personalities and particular ways of communicating remain constant, everyone understands that they are doing their own work in spite of support needs. When we failed to provide a communication system they could use, they could not show us how much they wanted to learn and how much they were able to learn.

 

The Transporters is a world of imaginary toy vehicle characters who have emotional experiences and adventures. It aims to help children enhance their understanding of the causes of emotions and of emotional expressions. UK residents can order a free copy of The Transporters DVD and read about the project at:

http://www.transporters.tv/