Meta-analysis of PECS with individuals with ASD: Investigation of targeted versus non-targeted outcomes, participant characteristics, and implementation phase

• Published in: Research in developmental disabilities Vol. 33; no. 2; pp. 406 - 418
• Main Authors: Ganz, Jennifer B., Davis, John L., Lund, Emily M., Goodwyn, Fara D., Simpson, Richard L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Ltd 01.03.2012; Elsevier
• Subjects: Age; Aided AAC; Augmentative and alternative communication; Augmentative communication; Autism; Autism spectrum disorders; Autistic spectrum disorders; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - psychology; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - rehabilitation; Child, Preschool; Communication Aids for Disabled; Communication Disorders - psychology; Communication Disorders - rehabilitation; Communication skills; Data Analysis; Developmental disorders; Disability; Effect Size; Evaluation Methods; Female; Functional communication; Humans; Infantile autism; Intervention; Interventions; Investigations; Male; Medical sciences; Mental Retardation; Meta-analysis; Multiple Disabilities; Multiply disabled people; Nonverbal Communication; Outcomes of Treatment; Participant Characteristics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Picture Exchange Communication System; Preschool Children; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Social Behavior; Social skills; Speech; Training; Autism spectrum disorders; Augmentative and alternative communication; Picture Exchange Communication System; Interventions; Communication skills; Aided AAC; Social skills; Meta-analysis; tion; Developmental disorder; Review; Implementation; Metaanalysis; Autism; Pervasive developmental disorder; Social aptitude; Comparative study; Augmentative and alternative communica; Communication
• ISSN: 0891-4222; 1873-3379; 1873-3379
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2011.09.023

► This meta-analysis analyzes PECS relative to targeted and non-targeted outcomes. ► Results supported the judgment that PECS is a promising intervention method. ► Functional communication outcomes associated with PECS were most impacted. ► Preschool children and those with autism showed the strongest effects. ► Students who advanced through the most PECS phases had the best outcomes. The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) is a widely used picture/icon aided augmentative communication system designed for learners with autism and other developmental disorders. This meta-analysis analyzes the extant empirical literature for PECS relative to targeted (functional communication) and non-targeted concomitant outcomes (behavior, social skills, and speech) for learners with autism, learners with autism and intellectual disabilities and those with autism and multiple disabilities. Effect size analyses were done using the Improvement Rate Difference method, an advanced metric. Effect sizes were independently analyzed for targeted and non-targeted outcomes, student age, learner disability, and number of phases in the PECS protocol acquired by learners. Results supported the judgment that PECS is a promising intervention method. Analysis also revealed that functional communication outcomes associated with the PECS protocol were most impacted, that preschool children and those with autism generally showed the strongest training effects, and that in general students who advanced through the most PECS protocol phases had the best outcomes.