Everyone is Entitled to
Communicate
MELINDA MUSIC, MA/CCC-SLP
PAINTSVILLE INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS
Develop Communication for Students whom are
Nonverbal and Severely Speech Impaired
• An increase in kids with autism, ADHD, speech and language disorders,
developmental delays, behavioral disorders, and other disabilities in schools
• These students have difficulty communicating everyday wants and needs.
• They have difficulty transitioning from one activity to another.
• All students need a functional and effective means of communication.
• Special education caseloads are increasing each year.
• More parents/kids are needing and/or wanting one-on-one assistance daily,
causing students to become dependent on an instructional assistant and they
lose independence.
Plan of Action
• Teach nonverbal and severely speech impaired kids the process of
communication using PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System).
• Use pictures in notebooks that travel everywhere with them at school, home, and
in the community.
• Use Boardmaker pictures because they are the same universal colored pictures
that are used in higher tech communication apps, devices, and programs.
• Once communicati0n process is learned, students can move to a more compact
communication app or device.
• Picture schedules will also be made and implemented in classrooms to help with
completing tasks, transitioning needs, and to help all students visualize their
schedules.
Materials Purchased
• Boardmaker Plus software
• HP Color printer
• Large PECS books
• Tabbed and non tabbed insert pages for PECS books
• Sentence Strips
• Communication Book Straps
• Universal No symbols
• PECS Posters
• PECS 151 pictures
Research Question
• Will the use of the Picture Exchange Communication System help to create an
understanding of the language process and be a successful, effective, and
functional communication system for special needs students that will enable
them to communicate on a daily basis?
Outcomes
• Each student will use a PECS book independently to communicate their wants
and needs successfully with multiple communication partners.
• Students will transition from one activity to another without negative behaviors.
• Students will manipulate their own daily schedule to know when an activity is
finished and what happens next.
PECS Posters
Teacher Input
When I asked teachers and parents about the students using picture schedules in the
classroom and using PECS to communicate their immediate needs with adults and
peers, responses were as follows:
Elementary Teachers:
“He is using his pictures to communicate with me and other adults.”
“There are so many pictures to try and keep up with. It gets cumbersome carrying a
book of pictures around all the time and he often has to flip through pages several
times before he can find the picture he is looking for.”
“Pictures are sometimes missing from his book. I’m not sure if he is losing them or
taking them out.”
“He is trying to use words verbally more frequently and I am understanding some of
them.”
The picture schedule is helping all the students in my classroom. Interruptions have
declined.
Teacher Input continued…
High School Teacher:
“He is not wanting to use his pictures to communicate at all. Every time we get his
book out, he pushes it to the side and shakes his head no. We have even tried
using a communication app on his iPad and he keeps turning it off and deleting
the app.”
“He continues to rely on his gestures and made-up signs to communicate with
teachers and peers.”
“Parents continue to encourage use of the signs and gestures.”
“He does not have any desire to use pictures for communication. He will point to
pictures on request, but not for initiated any communication.”
Parent Input
Elementary parent:
“I am so pleased with how he has learned to communicate this year.”
“We have not been called from the school to take him home for bad behavior all school year.”
“He is not only using pictures to communicate at home, but his speech and vocabulary have
improved so much that he is trying to use more words and phrases at home everyday. You can’t
always understand him, but he is communicating.”
High School Parent:
I would love for him to learn to use a device or iPad to be able to communicate with anyone and
everyone.
“I’m sorry. We have just always understood him and haven’t pushed him to learn new ways of
communicating.”
“He is very strong-willed and set in his ways.”
“I usually always know what he wants and needs or I can figure it out. He relies on me to help
him communicate with others who aren’t as familiar with him.”
What I Learned
• You can not teach an old dog new tricks.
• Early intervention is so important in developing a communication system (the
earlier the better).
• Designing and implementing PECS books are very time consuming.
• It is difficult to keep adding new pictures to the communication book, hard to
keep them organized, and it can take a while to find pictures needed to
communicate.
• Do not underestimate a student’s potential because he or she has limited verbal
skills.
What I learned continued…
• The more vocabulary a child develops, the more pictures you need.
• Carrying a book of hundreds or thousands of words is not always ideal.
• It will probably be more beneficial to transfer to another more portable device
with unlimited vocabulary for communication past Phase 3 of learning the
PECS.
Summary
• My successful student continues to have access to his
PECS book and a 32 picture device in his classroom and
at home for communication purposes. However, he has
picked up enough of the communication process and
vocabulary that he is now communicating mostly through
verbal skills. His speech continues to be somewhat
unintelligible to unfamiliar listeners due to his diagnosis
of developmental apraxia of speech. He continues to
learn and develop more daily. PECS was only the
beginning to helping him develop a means of
communication. This project was definitely worth every
minute as it gave one child a voice!