PECS board help

vworonec

I am interested in making a picture board for a 15yo boy with severe apraxia and a low IQ. We started some signing, but just very common things like mom, dad, help, wh questions. A total of about 10 signs. I am not even remotely fluent in sign so I am learning right along with him.

I want to make him something he can carry with him to school, home, and therapy in order to get his point across, but is there anything different I should do since he is a teenager? I can't do much about the pictures being childish (I don't have access to his personal things nor the money to make photo pictures for him, so he'll have to use just the regular drawing pictures). I just feel like the way I know how to make a PECS board is very child-oriented, does anyone have tips for a more teen appropriate version?

Assembly_Reqd

You could make one out of a three ring binder. Pull off the three ring mechanism and super glue some car interior fabric (the kind that is usually on the roof interior) to the entire inside of the binder.

Then, if you have the pecs laminated or on stiffer cardstick you can add velcro stickies to the back and then they will sitck to the car fabric. One side of the binder can be where all the options are "parked" and the other side is where he will stick the information he wants to convey on.

Hope I described it o.k.......This is a project we were told about from our vision teacher to play games on with "targets" but I think it would also work well for pecs.

Another option is to just use a cool 3-ring binder and use page protectors with one image per page. He can then turn to the page with what he wants to communicate. It would probably be the cheapest option. You could change out the images pretty easily too.

SLPgirl

You can always print pictures off of google images too (use these only if he can receptively identify them though)

Qmommy

Go to your school district and have request an IEP.  Have him assessed for an augmentative communication device.  They SHOULD be providing this to you at home and school.  If he qualifies for an AAC (alternative augmentative communication device) then they will provide that for you.  If a low tech AAC (PECS board) is more appropriate for him they should still provide that for him to use at ALL times.  It should go with him to and from school and when he is finished with school he takes it with him.

**As a special educator I believe that it is imperative that he has a voice.  This is not your fault and the district should be providing him with a method of communicating.  I hate so say this but if the district refuses to provide then I would seek a child advocate for support.** 

cranberry27

Qmommy:

Go to your school district and have request an IEP.  Have him assessed for an augmentative communication device.  They SHOULD be providing this to you at home and school.  If he qualifies for an AAC (alternative augmentative communication device) then they will provide that for you.  If a low tech AAC (PECS board) is more appropriate for him they should still provide that for him to use at ALL times.  It should go with him to and from school and when he is finished with school he takes it with him.

**As a special educator I believe that it is imperative that he has a voice.  This is not your fault and the district should be providing him with a method of communicating.  I hate so say this but if the district refuses to provide then I would seek a child advocate for support.** 

This exactly.  At 15 he should have a plan in place at school.  How does he typically communicate?  Does he have a system that works for him?  The school district will have the Boardmaker program that has pictures for everything under the sun, all in adult-appropriate formats.  This is not something you should have to do for him, especially not at this point.  Is this your son?  I'm just really surprised that things aren't in place for him already.  If he's not your son, I would try to get a little more history on what has been tried.

vworonec

Thanks for all the advice! No, he is not my son, he is my client. I am a grad student in a SLP program. He has been coming to the clinic for about a year, but his attendance was really poor because of home life issues. I have only had him 3 times so far. I guess other grad students have tried signing with him but he was not open to it. Apparently he is very different with me than he was with the other students that have had him (good different which makes me happy). He willingly, for the most part, practiced simple signs with me yesterday for the first time. We also baselined his receptive language for the pictures and tomorrow we will work on trying to answer questions with the pictures and signs so he learns the connection and tries to communicate more.

My supervisor said this semester we are going to determine if he can follow multistep directions in order to get an aac device like an itouch. I have already researched state programs to get him a device because I am outraged that he has been allowed to A.) be pushed through in school, B.) not have any real communication at 15+ years old!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (sorry, that makes me so livid). I don't know anything about his IEP, or if he has one- he must though!. This state is ass-backwards though so who knows.

I know it sounds like his parents are not doing all they can for him but really I think they are trying (Dad at least, Mom is a little bit of a F*ck up I guess). They only speak Spanish, Dad speaks broken English but goes to ESL class to improve. I don't know if they know what is available to them through the school or what they should push for. I'm sure the school is probably not helping, why tell them he deserves an AAC device when they can save some $$?

I know this is a super long response and is just going to make people mad at the situation, but I love this kid so much already. Any ideas, suggestions, prayers- all welcome! Why is the world not all rainbows and puppies?! I love rainbows and puppies. ::sigh::

themizz

vworonec:

We started some signing, but just very common things like mom, dad, help, wh questions. A total of about 10 signs.

vworonec:

We also baselined his receptive language for the pictures and tomorrow we will work on trying to answer questions with the pictures and signs so he learns the connection and tries to communicate more 

Ok, I'm just a lurker here who never posts, but I saw your post and just wanted to make the suggestion that instead of working on wh questions, answering questions, and labeling his parents, that it might be more beneficial to work on language that is more "functional" for him. 

What are things in his enviroment that he would want to ask for?  Help is a good one that I see you're working on, but what about communicating his basic wants and needs, like asking for a drink, food, or even to watch a movie.  Try and introduce pictures that will allow him to have more control over his enviroment, and therefore make him more independent and happier. 

Imagine if you had no way of communicating that you were hungry, needed to go to the bathroom, didn't feel good, etc.  You wouldn't want to be learning how to answer questions, you would want to be informing the people around you of what you need.  I'm not sure if you're familiar with B.F. Skinner's verbal behavior, but what I'm getting at is that it is important to teach someone who can't communicate to mand first, and then build up to other operants.

But overall it sounds like the PECs will be a great way to help him communicate, and it seems like you've already really made a connection with him. I think it's awesome that you're pushing to get a means of communication for him, and it makes me sad that he's had to go this far in life without it. Good luck!

vworonec

I didn't mean I was teaching him how to answer wh questions I meant I was working on giving him the signs to ask wh questions. Clarifying really. Like "S, do  you eat X?" If he doesn't hear/understand he can sign "What?". Sorry I didn't explain that better before.

The signs I am trying to teach him are functional I think. But either way, we worked on  making sentences/thoughts with the PECS board today. We worked on asking for  food choices. "I want (to eat) X."

He remembers his signs really well from day to day so hopefully I can add some more and increase the amount of pictures I give.

vworonec

That's why we can't be friends. I'm only friends with people who have ponies that poop rainbows... it's just a standard I have!