Picture Exchange Communication System
Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is based on the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA). It is a visual system that helps individuals to communicate their wants and needs. The purpose of this type of communication system is to help individuals who are nonverbal, pre-verbal, and who are apraxic to communicate their wants and needs in a consistent manner. PECS requires the individuals to physically take an object or a picture symbols (i.e., actual pictures or picture symbols) to hand to another person in exchange for what they want. In general, PECS help individuals who are nonverbal to clearly communicate what they want and it is a system that is generally easy for the receiver to understand, unlike sign language. For individuals who are pre-verbal, PECS helps them to consistently communicate their wants and needs when they are not able to verbalize them. This communication system provides the individuals with visual cues to help pull verbal language from them when they cannot come up with the words on their own. Also, this communication system assists children who are pre-verbal to begin to say longer sentences as they learn to use picture sentence strips to communicate their wants and needs. For those individuals who can process in-coming information but experience difficulty producing appropriate verbal output. The consistent visual cues provided by PECS helps them to remember what they want to say.
Verbal Behavior
Verbal behavior is a treatment approach to language development that was originated by BF Skinner. "In his treatment of language Skinner proposes that language is a behavior that is primarily caused by environment variables such as reinforcement, motivation, extinction, and punishment." (Sundberg, 1998, Appendix 1). This approach to language development does not consider variables such as cognition and biological factors. Verbal Behavior uses techniques of ABA to teach language. Skinner broke down areas of language based on their function. There are distinct names for each area of language. These include, but are not limited to, echoics, mands, tacts, and intraverbals.
Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children (TEACCH)
The TEACCH (Treatment and Education of Autistic and Related Communication-Handicapped Children) methodology was created specifically for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). TEACCH focuses on using visual and environmental structures to help individuals with ASD to become increasingly more independent in their daily functioning. The visual structures includes the use of a picture/word schedule to help these individuals transition from activity to activity, task to task, and location to location without becoming distressed and feel the need to rely on another person for help. Individuals with ASD tend to become easily dependent on others to help them through tasks. They also demonstrate difficulty predicting their environment and therefore, experience difficulty with most transitions. By providing individuals with ASD a visual functioning system that they understand and use on their own, their show of inappropriate behaviors decrease and they become much more independent in their daily functioning. Picture/word schedules are like the reminder lists we write for ourselves, and the organizers and palm pilots that we use to keep ourselves organized. The environmental structures includes the use of "left to right" and "top to down" work systems that help these individuals know a work routine to create independence and self-reliance. TEACCH was primarily set up in the classroom settings and work/job training sites, however many of its applications and techniques can be set up in the home to help these individuals becomes more independent in their daily functioning at home.
Social Stories
Social stories are short stories that adhere to a specific format with guidelines to describe a person, skill, event, concept, or social situation objectively. They describe these social situations in terms of relevant social cues and appropriate social responses. The goal of a social story is to share relevant information with someone who may not understand it presented in any other way. According to Gray, a specific format must be followed when developing, writing, and implementing an effective social. It is important that these elements are simultaneously considered throughout the process of developing and writing an effective social story. Several uses for social stories include: (a) describing a situation, including social cues and responses, in a non-threatening manner; (b) personalizing social skills instruction; (c) teaching routines or individual adjustment to routines; (d) teaching academic material in a realistic social setting, thereby assisting in generalization; and (e) addressing problem behaviors, such as aggression, obsessive behavior, and fear.