A speech therapist working to help youngsters with the speech, language development and vocabulary building may rely on PECS for assistance. PECS is short for “Picture Exchange Communication System,” and was the brain child of Andy Bondy and Lori Frost.
PECS is used primarily by speech therapists treating children who fall into the autism spectrum. The Pyramid Educational Consultants site is devoted to explaining the use of PECS during toddler speech therapy activities, and offers a wide array of tips and tricks.
Parents of toddlers may wish for the tools of speech therapy when it comes to helping their youngsters communicate better, but quite frequently these children are on track in their speech, language and vocabulary development and do not need the intervention of a speech therapist. That said, there is no reason that some speech therapy tools -- most notably PECS -- could not be adapted for in home use.
PECS relies on pictures for communication initiation, but parents could employ it to help children, who are thus far non-verbal or only partially able to express themselves. Such use would provide the child with a secondary means of interaction. For example, a picture of a steaming bowl of spaghetti could be the visual means by which a toddler can effectively communicate to a parent that s/he prefers spaghetti over hot dogs for dinner - well before being able to verbalize either.
It is noteworthy that not only parents are looking to toddler speech therapy activities for inspiration. Educators may also find uses in the classroom. Bright Hub’s own Gabbi525 explains in an article entitled “Picture Communication in the Preschool Special Needs Classroom” why PECS is actually a great tool for preschools and other early-education settings.
It is important to remember that adapted toddler speech therapy activities are not synonymous with actual speech therapy. Moreover, the intent of PECS and the at-home adaptation do not necessarily lead to the same results. Parents of children who use adapted speech therapy tools must be clear in their understanding of the differentiation.