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Thank you so much for all the wonderful information included in The ASHA Leader. I very much look forward to receiving my issues. My comment relates to the "First Person on the Last Page" section of the Oct. 5 issue. Ms. Willet writes about the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) and that her student "had not acquired the prerequisite behaviors necessary to learn PECS."
I would like to clear up this notion. The only prerequisite for beginning PECS is to identify the student's reinforcers. We need to know what the student likes in a variety of categories such as edibles, toys, materials, and activities. The student is not required to have eye contact or joint attention to begin PECS. In fact, PECS enhances eye contact and joint attention when a teacher/educator entices the student with a favorite reinforcer.
I wanted to provide this clarification because as a practicing SLP/consultant, I know how difficult it can be to teach eye contact and establish joint attention and I don't want to waste valuable time trying to obtain these skills prior to teaching PECS. PECS provides the students with a functional expressive communication system that is often their only modality for requesting and commenting. I would refer individuals to the Pyramid Educational Consultants, Inc. Web site for further information.
Jo-Anne B. Matteo
Fairfield, CT
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