Study: How does PECS compare to other communication interventions?

A recent study conducted by the Special Education Dept. at Vanderbilt University, compared effectiveness of 2 communication interventions (Responsive Education and Prelinguistic Milieu Teaching [RPMT] and the Picture Exchange Communication System [PECS]) in 36 preschoolers with autism. The results discovered that the RPMT promoted the rate of recurrence of generalized turn taking and generalized initiating joint attention more than did the PECS. Generalized initiating joint attention occurred only for children who began treatment with at least some initiating joint attention. In comparison, the PECS promoted generalized requests more than the RPMT in children with very little initiating joint attention prior to treatment. These effect sizes were large.

Source: J Consult Clin Psychol. 2006 Jun;74(3):426-35.Randomized comparison of two communication interventions for preschoolers with autism spectrum disorders.

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