The Effect of Applying Picture Exchange Communication System on Autistic Bahdini Children’s Verbal Speech

The present study aimed to study the effect of the picture exchange communication system on autistic Bahdini children’s verbal speech through a pre-experimental research design. Children with autism spectrum disorder have difficulty in communicating with the people around them. Moreover, autistic children need a special care and attention to be able to communicate and share their feelings and needs with the normal people around them. To conduct the current study, a sample of ten autistic children from Zakho Autism Centre was chosen with the age varying from 3 to 11 years old. Data were collected from the sample adopted via a pre and post-tests. The, data were analyzed in terms of means via the Software SPSS through paired samples-t test. The study also analyzed the verbal speech difficulties encountered by such children. The results arrived at in this study showed that the program had a positive effect on the autistic children’s verbal speech. Based on that, the scores obtained on the post-test showed a statistically significant difference compared to the pre-test scores. In other words, the program helped the children make a progress in their verbal speech. Moreover, this study can help the trainers and teachers at Autism Centers to adopt such a program in their teaching and training with some modifications to fit the context of such centers.