Part 2-PECS Phase III and IV

PECS: A communication system used for learners with Autism Spectrum Disorder

In the previous blog post, we discussed how to teach communication through PECS Phases I and II. In this blog post, we will dive into learning about Phases III and IV.  

PECS is a (non) communication system, used at special needs schools, ABA clinics like ABA Works, and across many other settings. It is widely used across the world. 

Phase III of PECS – Picture Discrimination 

Once your learner is a pro in phase II, it will be time for the learner to work on knowing the difference between each picture they are selecting.  Remember, it’s always important to keep your learner or child engaged, which often occurs through play in the ABA session.  

Phase 3A: 

• The first step in phase III is knowing the difference between 2 pictures (a highly preferred item and a non-preferred item). Present them to your learner and place both cards on top of the PECS book.   
  • For example, when my kiddo handed me a ball card, I praised him, stated the card he gave me, and he received the bouncy ball.  
• If the learner provides the non-preferred card, the clinician will use different stimulus and/or response prompts to teach the definition of the icons.  
  • When my kiddo selected the paperclip icon, I gave it to them. When my kiddo looked at me confused, I repeated the trial and provided a prompt. After my kiddo identified the correct item, I worked with my kiddo to differentiate the cards.   

Phase 3B:  

The learner is now taught to discriminate amongst multiple icons of items they want and need. The learner is also taught to go inside the PECS book.  You can change up the preferred item cards to work on your learner knowing how to obtain their preferred items.  

Once your learner has mastered Phase III, they will be ready for Phase IV. 

Phase IV of PECS – Sentence Structure 

In this phase, it involves creating a sentence structure. A very common one that I have worked with before was creating an “I want” sentence card for my learner. With that card, my learner will have to get desired picture item from the book and add it to the sentence card.  

The focus of this phase is to  

(1) Select the picture of the desired item 

(2) Add the item to the sentence card 

(3) Give the sentence card to you.  

For example, my learner wanted Cheeze It and he would go through his PECS books to search for the Cheeze It card. Once he found the Cheeze It card, he would go back to the sentence card, “I want” that was located on top of the PECS book. With the sentence card, my learner added the Cheeze It card to the sentence card and it then stated, “I want Cheeze It.” Once he completed his sentence, he then handed his sentence card to me.  I praised him by saying, “Thank you for telling me you want Cheeze It” and at the same time I provided my learner a few Cheeze It snacks.  

You must teach your learner to provide you with the completed sentence card and this is when a prompting procedure comes into play. Start with a full physical prompt where you and the learner will hand the card together to the person who has the preferred item.  

Once they are mastering the full physical prompt, you will then proceed to a gesture prompt where you will only point to the card to signal your learner to hand it to you. Once your learner is mastering giving the completed sentence card with your gesture prompt, you will then let learner attempt to give you the card on their own.  

The learner is also taught to tap out the words on the sentence strip. Speech is encouraged. Once your learner becomes a pro with Phase IV, they will be ready to go into Phase V.  

Check out the previous Blog post about PECS phase I and II and stay tuned for the next blog post where we dive into Phase V and VI of PECS! 

Did you know we also accept learners at the Social Skills Groups at ABA Works and work on PECS? The learner does not have to be verbal to be part of our fun social skills group.  

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