Brief Report: Randomized Test of the Efficacy of Picture Exchange Communication System on Highly Generalized Picture Exchanges in Children with ASD

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2010-05, Vol.40 (5), p.629-632
• Main Authors: Yoder, Paul J., Lieberman, Rebecca G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Algorithms; Auditory Evaluation; Augmentative and Alternative Communication; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic Disorder - psychology; Autistic Disorder - therapy; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Brief Report; Child and School Psychology; Child clinical studies; Child Language; Child, Preschool; Children; Communication Aids for Disabled; Communication Disorders - psychology; Communication Disorders - therapy; Communication Skills; Communication Strategies; Comparative Analysis; Developmental disorders; Early Intervention, Educational - methods; Education, Special - methods; Examiners; Expressive Language; Female; Generalization; Humans; Infant; Infantile autism; Interpersonal Communication; Language Therapy - methods; Male; Mathematics; Measurement Techniques; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Neurosciences; Nonverbal Communication; Nonverbal Communication - psychology; Pediatrics; Photic Stimulation - methods; Pictorial Stimuli; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public Health; Severity of Illness Index; Social Behavior; Treatment Outcome; Young Children
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-009-0897-y

A randomized control trial comparing two social-communication interventions in young children with autism examined far-transfer of the use of picture exchange to communicate. Thirty-six children were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions, one of which was the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). All children had access to picture symbols during assessments. Post-treatment measurement of the number of picture exchanges in a far-transfer, assessment context favored the PECS intervention. These findings were interpreted as support for the hypothesis that the PECS curriculum can successfully teach a generalized means of showing coordinated attention to object and person without requiring eye contact to children with ASD.