How to Make a DIY PECS Board At Home

The minds of our kids and their capability to learn are constantly growing as they become older. The ideal way to make sure your child reaches their fullest potential is to find the teaching tools that will better assist their learning process. 

Since the learning styles of every child are different, you must try all of the methods available. One of the most effective methods for improving your child’s communication and speech skills is PECS.

What is PECS?

PECS is an acronym that stands for Picture Exchange Communication System. PECS is a great teaching tool that helps nonverbal children communicate without words, such as those with autism.

This system starts by using pictures to allow your child to make choices and convey what they need. Eventually, those same pictures are used to teach them the words they represent and encourage verbal communication.

But where did this method come from?

History of PECS

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was developed by Andy Bondy and his wife, Lori Frost, in 1985 here in the USA. The teaching method, based on the book Verbal Behavior by B.F. Skinner, focuses on the idea that behavior can be determined by the consequences, whether they are reinforcements or punishments, making it more or less likely that behavior will happen again. 

Another aspect in developing the PECS system included the broad spectrum of Applied Behavior Analysis, which is “the practice of applying the psychological principles of learning theory in a systematic way to modify behavior.” 

Understanding How PECS Works

PECS has been used worldwide to help thousands of people of various ages and with an array of cognitive, physical, and communication challenges. This teaching tool consists of the following six phases:

Phase 1: Learning How to Communicate

Have you ever heard the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words”? A single image can convey a whole story sometimes better than any amount of descriptive text. 

PECS uses this idea with simple pictures of everyday items or activities that your child wants or needs. You’ll encourage your child to choose one of the pictures they want and bring it to you to exchange for the actual item. For example, if they want an apple, they will hand you a picture of the apple, and you will give them an apple.

Phase 2: Distance and Persistence

Once you believe that your child has understood how to communicate with pictures what they want, you can begin to associate certain items with specific areas of your home. During this phase, you can also start to use PECS with different members of the family, other visitors, and across distances.

The idea behind phase 2 is to teach your child how to become a more persistent communicator.

Phase 3: Picture Discrimination

In Phase 3, you start to challenge your child a bit more by having them select from multiple pictures to help them ask for their favorite things. 

When you give your child various choices, the best option to make it easier for them to choose is utilizing some kind of PECS communication device. The most common device is a ringed binder with Velcro strips where your child can easily find the pictures they have learned, remove them, and hand them over to someone.

Phase 4: Sentence Structure

As your child becomes more comfortable using pictures, they’ll be ready to face a challenge by constructing simple sentences. For example, your PECS communication device can have a “Sentence Strip” with an image representing and containing the phrase “I want.” They will then need to place a picture of the item they’re requesting next to the “I want” picture.

Phase 5: Responsive Requesting

Phase 5 begins to combine their picture communication skills with verbal cues. For example, your child will learn to use their PECS communication device to answer questions like “What do you want?”.

Phase 6: Commenting

After your child has successfully implemented Phase 5, they can now be taught to comment in response to questions such as:

• What do you see?
• What do you hear?
• What is it?

Their response will allow them to create sentences that start with “I see,” “I hear,” “I feel,” and “It is a.” You’ll be able to progressively add different pictures to your child’s “vocabulary” as they become more comfortable expressing themselves using their PECS communication device.

How Can I Make My Own PECS Board?

As a parent, no price is too high for an effective tool that helps develop your child’s communication and speech skills. But it’s also essential to try the basic concept of a PECS teaching method to determine how your child will respond.

Creating your own Picture Exchange Communication System at home will help you begin to develop vital skills without investing in expensive tools that may not work. Some of the items you will need to create your own PECS board include:

• Sturdy material such as wood
• Printed and laminated pictures
• Velcro

Step 1: Create a Sturdy Base

You must make your PECS board of sturdy material because children will easily drop and throw most items. Start with a board the size of a binder made out of plywood that’s safe to handle or purchase a chalkboard (they usually come in various sizes).  

Step 2: Print and Laminate Pictures

Every child has their favorite snack, toy, or activity, and these are pictures that will be ideal to start with. For most children, actual pictures of these familiar items taken with a digital camera will be easier to recognize, but you can also use cartoons or other clipart available online.

Make sure your pictures are about the size of a three-inch square and then laminate them to make them more durable. Even though you want to begin with fewer pictures while your child begins to understand the PECS method, print out various items so you can have them ready.

Step 3: Place the Velcro

Once you have your sturdy base, turn it to the landscape position and evenly place about three rows of velcro strips from left to right. Depending on the size of your board, you may be able to fit more rows and even include the “Sentence Strip” you will need in Phase 4.

You will also need to place velcro strips on the back of each laminated picture so they can easily be identified and removed from your PECS board.

How to Use Your PECS Board Correctly

Using the PECS teaching method can help your child in various ways. All of us have to make choices daily, whether they’re big decisions or not, and your child is no different. As they start to understand how PECS works, you can create either a bigger board or multiple boards to aid them in the following categories:

PECS Board For Choices

Create a board for items they have to choose between during their day. For example, you can place the different snacks they can pick from or their favorite beverages on the board. Multiple boards will make implementing Phase 2, “Distance and Persistence,” a lot easier.

PECS Board For Transitioning

Associating the pictures with real-life items can slowly evolve into helping them identify daily activities. For example, in the classroom, your child’s PECS board can include pictures of their different school subjects like art, math, and even recess. Transitioning from one activity to another will be easier when their teacher can show them with their board.

PECS Board For Communication

While the above methods promote communication, there are certain things your child may need or want that don’t involve making a choice or transitioning activities. For example, your PECS board for communication can include pictures of:

• A toilet for them to indicate they need to use the bathroom.
• A bed for when they want you to put them to bed.
• The backyard to let you know they want to play outside.

The Effectiveness of a Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) Board on Communication Skills And Speech

Studies have shown that the PECS has positive effects on the development of communication skills and speech. For example, it has proven to help children learn to make requests with pictures and, although some fear this method will hinder speech, some begin to use intelligible speech by following instructions.

The advantages of using a PECS board include:

• Since pictures are easy to use, parents and other family members don’t need special training.
• Matching pictures with items allows for quick and easy communication.
• The PECS method will enable you to begin creating a positive emotional history related to speech.
• PECS is a progressive tool with endless possibilities so you can continue to add pictures to your child’s board

Help From Normal Life Inc.

Creating your own PECS board is just the beginning of the beautiful journey you’ll embark on helping your child learn to communicate. There are so many tools out there that will help your child develop many other skills as they grow older. If you want to purchase a pre-made PECS board on Amazon, check out the best PECS boards for children with autism.

Normal Life Inc. was founded to help families affected by autism and other intellectual disabilities. Our goal is to provide much-needed resources to help you understand what your child is going through. We also want you, as a parent, to feel a sense of community because you’re not alone.