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“Brief Report: Increase in Production of Spoken Words in Some Children with Autism after PECS Teaching to Phase III”

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Abstract

The context for this work was an evaluation study [Carr, D., & Felce, J. A. (in press)] of the early phases of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) [Frost, L. A., & Bondy, A. S. (1994). The picture exchange communication system training manual. Cherry Hill, NJ: Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc.; Frost, L. A., & Bondy, A. S. (2004). The picture exchange communication system training manual, 2nd edn. Newark, DE: Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc.]. This paper reports that five of 24 children who received 15 h of PECS teaching towards Phase III over a period of 4–5 weeks, showed concomitant increases in speech production, either in initiating communication with staff or in responding, or both. No children in the PECS group demonstrated a decrease in spoken words after receiving PECS teaching. In the control group, only one of 17 children demonstrated a minimal increase and four of 17 children demonstrated a decrease in use of spoken words after a similar period without PECS teaching.

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Acknowledgment

This study was funded through a grant provided by the Healthcare Foundation (formerly PPP Foundation).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Welsh Centre for Learning Disabilities, Division of Psychology, School of Medicine, Cardiff University, meridian Court, North Road, Cardiff, CF14 3BG, S. Wales, UK

    Deborah Carr & Janet Felce

Authors
  1. Deborah Carr
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  2. Janet Felce
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Correspondence to Deborah Carr.

Appendices

Appendix A

Communication Exchange Observation Sheet

Appendix B

Observation Definitions

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Carr, D., Felce, J. “Brief Report: Increase in Production of Spoken Words in Some Children with Autism after PECS Teaching to Phase III”. J Autism Dev Disord 37, 780–787 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0204-0

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