PICTURE EXCHANGE COMMUNICATION SYSTEM (PECS) TO COMMUNICATE FUNCTIONALLY BY A CHILD WITH AUTISM: A SINGLE CASE EXPERIMENTAL STUDY

The present investigation is attempted to find out the effect of Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) on improvisation of Functional Communication Skills in children with autism. Single case experimental research design was used in the present study. A 5 year old child with moderate autism having moderate communication ability was identified from the Care for Autism Center, Hyderabad. Indian Scale for Assessment of Autism (ISSA) was used to assess the level of autism and Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was used to assess the verbal and non verbal communication to find out the level of communication. Functional communication assessment checklist was used to determine communicative competence. Reinforcer assessment checklist was used to find out the reinforcer for food items, play items, activity materials, brushing and bathing, items. After prioritizing the items, 15 items which are necessary for functional communication purpose were selected for training by using PECS. After collecting the baseline, the PECS intervention was initiated. Everyday five sessions were conducted during snacks time, after lunch, and during play time and before leaving from the school for a period of 12 weeks. PECS training was implemented till Phase IV. PECS assessment checklist was used to collect the data on Functional Communication Skills. Pre, mid and post assessment was done. The Mid assessment was done at every 10th session and performance was recorded. Mean scores were computed for each domain The pre mean scores is 1.00 and post mean scores is 5.00. Gradual improvement was seen during the mid assessment. The result indicates that the PECS training was effective in improvement of functional communication skills in a child with autism.