We conducted a survey of educators who had previously attended PECS Level 1 and 2 trainings sponsored by the OPI Montana Autism Education Project. The survey was conducted after they had been using PECS for three months to two+ years.
Here are some of the results:
(Doug - I think the *only* person who said, "No" might have had a slip of the mouse, since they also said they use PECS daily and PECS help them to better educate students.)
Additional Comments:
PECS has been extremely useful for students with limited communication.
This training has been of great help to me. Something that was applicable the day I returned to work.
I think all of our Special Ed staff should attend this training! We have multiple kids that use PECS and I think everyone that works with them throughout the day should know how to work with them in an effective way.
Last year I had a three year old with autism who started the year with almost no ability to communicate other than to run and scream and flail. We introduced PECS and that beautiful little girl not only learned how to use PECS to communicate in sentences, she began speaking in sentences within a few months. Her progress was so rapid , and generalized throughout her day at school as well as home and within the community. I moved her from a self contained STAR class to my highest functioning class for kids with much less significant delays and she was the social and communication role model. All within a few months. I truly believe PECS changed the trajectory of her life!
If you want to know when we offer future PECS workshops, you can subscribe to the OPI Montana Autism Education Project mailing list here.
