Effects of the Picture Exchange Communication System on Early Social-Communication Behaviors in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Abstract

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a common training choice for non-verbal children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Thus, this study investigated whether Phases 1–3 of the PECS (which are relatively easy for children to master) promote the development of early social-communication behaviors among children with ASD. We assigned 43 children (mean chronological age = 45.85 months) from the same child development support center into two groups: a PECS training group and a non-intervention (control) group. The training group received PECS (Phases 1–3) training once a week for 24 weeks at the university associated with the authors. Their early social-communication behaviors were evaluated by using behavioral observations and eye-tracking experiments during the pre- and post-training phases. Results showed that most of the early social-communication behaviors in the PECS training group were observed more frequently during the post-phase than the pre-phase, while the control group did not show any differences between the phases. These findings suggest that PECS training (Phases 1–3) can facilitate early social-communication behaviors in children with ASD.