The Picture Exchange Communication System

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is an alternative/augmentative communication system that was developed to teach functional communication to children with limited speech. The approach is unique in that it teaches children to initiate communicative interactions within a social framework. This article describes the advantages to implementing PECS over traditional approaches. The PECS training protocol is described wherein children are taught to exchange a single picture for a desired item and eventually to construct picture-based sentences and use a variety of attributes in their requests. The relationship of PECS's implementation to the development of speech in previously nonvocal students is reviewed.