PECS?

[Phucket]

 My daughter has a language disorder, she doesn't understand verbal language, will these help me communicate with her? I do flash card with her and I try to get her to point at things and she won't point to show me. She just says "ter" and I've been working on her pointing things out to me for a long time she just doesn't understand. She puts her whole dead-weight arm on the card and doesn't understand the whole pointing to communicate. So knowing that, will these cards still help?? She understands key words like 'lets go bye bye' and 'eat', 'brush'..etc.

[myfirstborn04]

I believe so. I need some for my 2 year old. His language is delayed. I have picture books with words. He loves them. We read it daily, sometimes we have to read it repeatedly.

[lifeisajoy]

It may-the key is using them for her-for ex. to make sure she can relate to the pecs--for ex. some kids if you have elmo brushing teeth-(and you want it to mean brushing teeth) now they want to watch Elmo (my son has done that with some of him-but it works in the advantage at times-because if I don't have Elmo video up there-I will say brush teeth then watch Elmo-that is an example

[lasombrs]

Cace hates the PECS system :( He will not do it. end of story. Wont make choices, even if he knows what an item is cant pick it out in the pictures etc. When we first started his SLT his original therapist would only use this system and Cace was a wreck, and screamed and cried and hated her. His new therapist thinks he would do better with an ipad and the Proloqou2go program. because then he is more in charge of the whole thing and it has the words written, a picture/sign for the word, and says them out loud for him when touched.

We are working on trying to get it for him. He starts prek on the 27 and this SLT also says he needs to do PECS well before they will consider trying to grant him an ipad themselves. They claim he has no idea what a picture is. I think the PECS system is his problem though, not identifying pictures itself.

But yeah.... lol. I think the flash card thing just doesnt work well because you are still trying to control the communication that way and force choices out of them. Cace seems to have big trouble with making choices that are forced apon him. He shuts down like its to much to comprehend. Unless he had access to every card there was at all times and could find what he wanted and just bring it to us. But then it frustrates him that it takes to long to get what he wants.

[darbyakeep45]

Every child is different, but it's definitely worth a shot.  Now, my son did fairly well with PECS for a while, but then just stopped cooperating.  He doesn't point nor does he do sign language.  He's almost 4 and doesn't speak.  He moans, groans, grunts, etc.  How about the ipad version of PECS?  Would that be an option for you guys?

[Spectrummom311]

We started out with PECS when my son was non-verbal at age 3. By age 4 he was verbal but still had communication problems. His teacher put together a PECS board for us and that was extremely helpful! I think it will be helpul. Do you have her in Speech Therapy?

[Elyssa414]

We did PECs when my son was around 3-5 and non-verbal... It took a LOT of repetitive training, but eventually he could pick between two cards, like if he was in the kitchen grunting and whining I could hold up a Cereal card and a Banana card and he would grab the one he wanted or just push them away and I would try something different.

When he was a little older we got a talking machine and that worked better for him. We had a vantage, but they are huge and clunky and way too expensive, now-a-days (that makes me sound old!! Lol) you can get a tablet like the Nook Tablet for $179 and put the JabTalk app($0.99)on it! :)

[lifeisajoy]

I think too some kids need a variety--my son uses pecs (pecs pictures, talking badge (pecs with pictures on a chain necklage thing) pecs boards, social stories) ,  adaptive sign, gestures, the dynavox V (yes old fashioned-but he worked hard for that and doing well) --he uses these at home, school, and out and about (community) and at school they just started using ipad-proloquo-I am going to ask at IEP in September if we could at least trial it at home--now I am sure at least for now we will not be able to get one and we need all the stuff on it that it comes with (all the extras--ipad, proloquo, the bug, the bumper pads (anything so it won't break) but since he is using it at school we would like to try it--

We use a variety of methods because it depends where you are at-like in the swimming pool-use adaptive sign (hand words-we call them) or talking (which he can say few words-mama, didi (daddy), gama (grandma) and so on but not complete sentences) but say going place to place-picture badge good-whip it out, say at school or home just chatting or sitting at restaurant--somewhere sitting-use dynavox (talking box) or ipad (at school-but right now they only trial and I believe once a week) and need quick choices-pecs-pictures or pecs strips (serious of pictures laminated) or need to know the order of the day-(picture board) or need to understand a concept (like how to chew food or why you wear mittens or what is the before, during and after of using the restroom) then we use social stories

So for my kiddo (he is 19 yrs old and lots of trials and errors) he uses a variety of ways to communicate--