The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) has been used for decades to support autistic children in learning how to communicate. For many, PECS has opened the door to requesting and expressing wants—and that is something worth celebrating.
But here’s the truth: PECS, on its own, isn’t enough. Preschool is a critical time for building the foundations of communication, social interaction, and connection. Limiting children to compliance-based exchanges misses the bigger picture of what communication is really about.
In this blog, we’ll explore what PECS is, the challenges it presents, what the research says, and why robust AAC systems are essential for giving preschoolers the full box of crayons—not just a single color.
What Is PECS?
The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) was developed in the 1990s by Andy Bondy and Lori Frost. It was designed to teach children to exchange a picture card to request something they want. Over time, the phases become more complex—starting with handing over a single picture, then moving to short sentences like “I want ball,” and eventually adding attributes such as colors and numbers.
For many years, PECS was considered the gold standard for supporting communication in autistic children. Back in the 1990s and early 2000s, high-tech AAC devices were often large, expensive, and out of reach for most families and schools. In that context, PECS felt like the most practical and effective option we had.
My PECS Training Story
I’ll never forget sitting in one of those trainings in the 90s, practicing the Two-Step Error Correction Procedure.
Here’s what we were taught:
- If a child gave the wrong picture, hold up the correct picture, say the word, and prompt the child to look at it—but don’t give them the item.
- Then, prompt them—sometimes even physically—to hand over the right picture. Even when they did it “correctly,” they still didn’t receive the item.
Even back then, my gut told me something was off. It didn’t feel like communication. It felt like compliance.
Looking back now, through the lens of neurodiversity-affirming practices, I understand why it felt wrong: we weren’t honoring authentic communication attempts—we were controlling behavior.
A Student Story: Crackers
I also think of a student I worked with who proudly learned to say, “I want crackers.” It gave him real power to communicate.
But then came the next step in PECS: adding numbers. “I want three crackers.”
The problem? He didn’t want three crackers. He just wanted crackers. Yet we were told to prompt him through this step. He became so frustrated that by the time he got the crackers, he would smash them.
Once again, my gut was right: this wasn’t communication—it was forced compliance.
The Challenges With PECS
Over time, I’ve seen the bigger issues with PECS autism practices:
- Compliance focus: Kids must perform a behavior before they get what they want.
- Frustration and meltdowns: Withholding items until “done correctly” often causes distress.
- Lack of natural modeling: Adults aren’t modeling language in context.
- Prompt dependency: Kids wait for adults to set it up.
- Limited scope: Great for requests, but communication is about protesting, commenting, asking questions, and sharing feelings.
- Impracticality: Binders and cards aren’t realistic long-term—few autistic adults use PECS in the community.
What the Research Says
A 2008 systematic review by Ostryn, Wolfe, and Rusch found that PECS can help with requesting and sometimes labeling. But there’s little evidence that it supports broader communication, like asking questions or connecting socially.
Their conclusion? There may not be a single “best” system. Instead, a multimodal approach—using multiple strategies—is most effective. They also noted that PECS should not be a long-term solution.
Evidence-Based Practice and PECS
You may wonder: But isn’t PECS evidence-based?
Evidence-Based Practice (EBP), according to ASHA, combines three things:
- Research evidence – What studies show.
- Clinical expertise – The knowledge and judgment of professionals.
- Client perspectives – The values and experiences of the child and family.
Yes, PECS has research. But clinical expertise matters too—and many of us felt in our gut that it wasn’t natural. Most importantly, the voices of autistic people add vital perspective.
Autistic SLP Julie Roberts wrote in 2020:
“The fundamental goal of ABA is compliance with the will of the person in the position of authority; this is completely counter-intuitive to self-advocacy, self-determination, and upholding human rights and dignity.”
Nonspeaking autistic advocate Jordyn Zimmerman put it this way:
“PECS is a requesting system, not a communication system… When we limit or control someone’s communication, we are deciding their worth and assigning them value.”
Her experience shows the harm of limiting communication—frustration, segregation, and missed opportunities—until she gained access to robust AAC at age 18.
Modern AAC: What We Know Now
Thankfully, we aren’t stuck in the 90s anymore. Technology has changed everything. iPads, apps, and speech-generating devices now make robust AAC accessible and portable.
Robust AAC gives kids access to thousands of words—not just a handful of pictures. With PECS, a child can say, “I want cracker.”
With robust AAC, they can say:
- “I want crackers.”
- “No crackers.”
- “I’m hungry.”
- “That cracker is silly.”
- “I want goldfish instead.”
- “I don’t like crackers.”
That’s the difference between transactional communication and true language access.
Common Questions
- Does PECS stop kids from talking? No—but it also doesn’t grow language like AAC modeling does.
- Should kids start with PECS before AAC? No. There are no prerequisites for AAC.
- Isn’t PECS easier? Maybe short-term. But long-term, kids need systems that grow with them.
Real-Life Example
At snack time, a PECS exchange might end with a child handing you a picture of crackers. Transaction complete.
With AAC, you could model: “Want crackers.” Then expand: “I like crackers” or “No crackers.” That’s how language grows.
Takeaway
So, is PECS bad? No. But is it enough for preschoolers? Absolutely not.
Preschool is a critical time for language, social growth, and connection. Limiting kids to PECS is like giving them one crayon when they deserve the whole box.
Our role is to:
- Model robust AAC daily.
- Value every communication attempt.
- Teach beyond requests.
- Use PECS, if at all, only as a stepping stone—not the end goal.
Because communication is about connection, not compliance. And our preschoolers deserve nothing less.
Listen to the Podcast Episode #139
Reflections and Ripples: What Jordyn Zimmerman Taught Us
AAC & Multimodal Communication
If you use visual supports in your classroom or home, you are going to want to sign up for this free Visual Supports Starter Set ASAP! Click here to have one sent to your inbox. Also, be sure to read more about visual supports and how they can help autistic children here.
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