PECS

PECS stands for Picture Exchange Communication System.

I spent two days in Fort Worth this week being trained on PECS.  I cannot even begin to explain how excited I am about this system.  Virtually all of my students at school are non verbal - or unable to communicate clearly enough to express their needs and wants.  This system was born out of a similar need - for one student in a classroom who was not responding to the typical methods of speech therapy, sign language and other systems.  It's a system that teaches children (and non-verbal adults too) how to exchange pictures to a teacher or a parent to express their wants and needs.  It starts out simply and progresses in different stages so they can include expressing their observations not just requests.  They can build complete thoughts rather then just one-word communication.  Research has shown that it often enhances development of speech as a students vocabulary base builds through pictures.  

Perhaps one of the hardest parts of my job is watching parents grapple with the needs of their sweet young children - wondering how they can help them best while coming to terms with such a recent diagnosis.  They search for whatever resources they can find - whatever they can do to help their children.  I watch them - seeing the depth of their emotions and their intense desire to find ways to communicate with their children.  

In a tiny small fraction - that I really can't compare - I recall a time when Cowboy T was very young and he was not talking at all.  He was well past the time his vocabulary should have been building.  We worked and struggled and worried and wondered.  There is one instance that stands out in my mind that I will never forget.  He was crying - clearly hungry for something specific in the fridge - but all he could do was point.  I remember frantically going through the fridge grabbing everything I could find trying desperately to meet the need of my sweet son.  He was sobbing and crying and as I emptied the fridge I felt so utterly helpless.  I began to cry in complete frustration at the situation.  I just wanted so much to help him as we both stood there crying in front of the fridge.  

Now - Cowboy T is clearly a talker and doing a-ok.  But I am so grateful for that experience and I will never forget the emotions of that moment as he tried to communicate with me and I could not understand.  I often think of it when I speak with parents - as we brainstorm how to help their child.  This system has the potential to make the bridge for those children and families.  Not just at school - but at home too.  I can not wait to get back to school and start using this one student at a time.  If I accomplish nothing else this year . . . I want to help these sweet children and parents be able to communicate!