PECS vs. ASL | Autism PDD

I don't know if this is the right place to post this, but I'll give it a try...

Anyway, my son is almost three, and has been dx'd with "classic autism" and he is also nonverbal.  I've been looking into PECS and also sign language as a means of teaching him to communicate.  Are those two approaches something I could/should use together, or should I simply try one or the other?

If I should choose just one, should I start with PECS or sign language?  I realize that if I use the PECS, I wouldn't have to learn any new skills, per se, the way I would if we attempt sign language.

Any advice or experiences anyone has to share would be greatly appreciated!!

When my sons were young, both were still non-verbal and we tried PECS and ASL.  My youngest took to ASL very quickly and moved on to speech not to long after.  My oldest never really got the signs down but did well with PECS.  So every kid is different, even brothers. 

Something to consider if you do want to learn some ASL, try Signing Time DVDs.  They are awesome!  If your child likes to watch TV, they will like these.  You can check it out at www.SigningTime.com

Good luck with whatever method you decide! 
I'm sure all kids are different, but in our case: ei and I worked on signs for 1 1/2 years to no avail. Either he was too young, or just wasn't making the connection, or his very weak muscles made it an unpleasant option. We are just starting with a few pecs. No luck yet, but it is very early. I think he is very visual as lots of autistic kids are, so I think this will work better. My son is 39 mo and non-verbal as well. I'm sure others have lots more experience with these.

We tried to teach Sarah to sign and she refused..I love the pics/pecs as they were instant gratification for her once she could point..we always would try to get an utterance each time she would point to picture. We also placed preferred items up high so she would have to grunt or point to get them and slowly mold her sounds into saying the word for it...it took months but she started talking:) Pics are great for making social stories and poster schedules and little albums of family members and items he prefers like foods, toys, movies, pets..ect. always pair the picture with the word so he associate a name to items and people:)

Good luck!

Thanks, guys.  So it's best to use just one thing (whichever it is), so you know which one is working, I would suppose?

I've heard lots of good things about PECS, and I can actually see the utility in my house, and not just for Jason, but for my other NT kiddos, especially the babe.  The older ones are starting to tell time, but a posted visual schedule might really help them remember what is coming next.

Anything that reduces chaos in a house full of boys is great in my opinion!

Are the PECS things expensive?  Can you do it effectively on your own, without a therapist, and can you make your own pictures for it?

Dig. camera of the real pics he likes, places, people, doctor, therapists, pets, ect..:)

Or "picture it cd-rom" from superduper publications~over 5,000 pics:)

There have been many posts on this topic. YOu'll get a lot of info if you search PECS on this site.

You will need training and maybe even the teachers.  When my son was three they handed us a book and some pecs cards and told us to let him pic for a field of two what he wanted.  If failed.  I thought he could never get it.  Next year, or maybe it was two I forget, the teacher got training and they trained us and he picked it up right away.  They also took some pics of my son's favorite things and that increased the use.  He is now making I want sentence strips.

Board maker is now offering a limited free trial.  I have made many pecs cards using my pictures I took with my digital camera.  I had made my own home made pics but my son prefers the ones I made with boardmaker. Plus it was easier to add the names of the items on the card.  It will take a little expermenting but was very easy.

Thanks for the insight.  I will have to get the book (manual?) on it, though, since I doubt very much that 12 1/2 hours for everything (OT, ST, etc.) are going to cut it.

I can't pay for it myself, so I have to learn to do it myself.  I wanted to learn something new this summer anyway, so why not?

Thanks again for sharing!

Signs never worked with my guy. We did the PRT thing and after a year and no words, we took to PECS and I LOVE PECS!!! lol He's flying with it, but I expected he would. He's such a visual kid!!! My son's in-home took care of setting me up with the system and so did the school board, but I know you can do it yourself very inexpensively!

Good luck!

 

I like PECS though it isn't for everyone.  I would not recommend trying to teach it by yourself.  The reason being, there is more than one way to teach communication and you need someone who will be able to know whether PECS is working out or if another technique might be needed (yup, I'm an SLP so I admit the bias here).  You would be the one to carryover the teaching at home though. The PECS books themselves aren't too bad expense wise but you will need a Boardmaker program to make picture symbols (if he can comprehend this level of symbol) and a digital camera.  The Boardmaker is 500.00-600.00 I think but probably the SLP would have the program.  You would also need to keep buying velcro and have access to laminating - those little PECS pictures take a beating!  Good luck! 

We used (use) both at the same time. No confusion or terrible inability to learn them...

Using real photos for the PECS (versus the ones they sell) really made a difference.

Even now that she is beginning to communicate, she will pull a photo off the kitchen door and say, "apple?"
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