More PECS Talk

Since I heard from several of you who are quite interested in PECS, I decided to devote a little more time to it today.

First thing I would tell you is that if you're not on Pinterest, you should be! It's a great resource for all kinds of special needs, including lots of information on PECS.  I found most all of the pictures and links below on Pinterest.  If you'd like to follow me there, I'm pinterest.com/lanalrush.

Also thanks to Pinterest, I found a great website that makes creating PECS cards a breeze.  It's called www.mrsriley.com and I highly recommend it.  You can upload your own photos, find pictures on the web, search the library of cards made by other users as well as 3000+ symbols, click and drag to your preferred template size, and print.  Easy as pie.

Now. There are lots of ways to organize your PECS cards.  One way is a binder, like this one:



with sentence strips like these:


While this is not my preferred method of storage, that doesn't mean someone else might not love them.  And if a PECS notebook is something you'd like to try, now's a good time to do so.  A sweet reader left a comment on Tuesday's post to pass along that www.especialneeds.com is having a close-out sale on many PECS accessories and the prices are great.  So hurry up and take advantage of the low prices if you're interested.  And thanks Mom25 for the tip!

In Tuesday's post, I showed you the PECS set-up we currently have in our house.  In case anyone missed it, it looks a little something like this:



But there are more decorative ways to display your cards if you're a crafty sort of person:

In the picture above, I really like that little drawer shelf for storing the cards by category when they're not in use.

From Bella & Bambino, here's another cute idea for a PECS visual schedule, using a cheap frame and magnetic paint.

Click here for directions.

Here's an idea for a little more discreet way to have PECS cards at the ready.  Plus, since it's a lower cabinet, the cards are right at a child's height.  Handy!

Click here for directions from Under the Table & Dreaming by Stephanie Lynn.

So we've seen several ways to store, organize, and display the picture cards.  How about some creative ways to put those cards to use?

Use PECS cards and a paint stick to make Story Sticks, an easy and fun way to involve a child in the plot of a book.  Paint sticks could also make a make a great portable visual schedule.

Click here for directions from Making Learning Fun.

Virginia Commonwealth University has a great explanation of just about every kind of visual schedule out there and the orderly way to progress through them.

 Click here to learn more.

Click here to visit the blog, She Wears Flowers and you'll find a tutorial for making a felt shopping book for use with PECS cards at the grocery store.  This could be a great way to get your child involved in shopping as well as an easy way to show that the food cards stand for actual food items.

Last but not least, my simple method of carrying the cards along with me when I'm out and about with the Bird?  Book rings:

Easy to stick in my purse or even hook on the strap.  Quick and easy to take on and off depending on what the day's activities are.  Simple to sort through and make a selection.  And the key rings can be divided by categories - places to eat, errands to run, fun things to do, and so on.

So while PECS may not be as fast as pulling up an image on your iPhone or iPad, there are lots of ways you can make it work for you.  And most importantly, for your child.

Have a great weekend and I'll see you Tuesday!