In December 25 Education and Care Staff from Pegasus School, Bladon House School and Rowden House School, plus three Professionals invited from other special needs schools with the Derbyshire area, took part in a 2 day Picture Exchange Communication System Workshop.
The workshop which covered the background, rationale and the hands on implementation of PECS, was organised by Linda Taylor Training co-ordinator at
Pegasus School.
During the two days Staff also learnt how to create effective learning environments and other visual strategies useful for communication and independence.
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), which is widely used within the SENAD Group of Schools, was developed over 20 years ago as a method for children and adults with autism and other communication difficulties to initiate communication.
When students first start using PECS they are taught how to exchange a picture of a desired item with a Teacher or Care Worker, who immediately honours the request. For example, if they want a drink, they will give a picture of 'drink' to an adult who directly hands them a drink. Verbal prompts are not used, thus encouraging spontaneity and avoiding prompt dependency. The system goes on to teach discrimination of symbols and how to construct simple "sentences."
The Feedback from staff who attended was extremely positive:
‘Excellent presentation – Instructor very knowledgeable and the workshop was presented in a manner that we could understand – very interesting.’
The workshop showed how very important it is to catch these students at a young age to assist with expression & give them choice, relieve anxiety and boost self esteem |
