(i) The intervention
Case Study 1-Intervention to be focused on Annie’s communication skills to deal with social interactions with her peers which in turn will help her to cope with or minimize behavioral problems, such as biting in the classroom.
From the case study, I gained an understanding that Annie is probably a child who uses minimal verbal communication to express herself, hence, when she is upset with her peers; she exhibited inappropriate behavior for example, biting her classmates to demonstrate her intension, or becomes withdrawn to the group of children when she is being teased by them. Hence, one of the interventions could be adopted to help Annie in expressing herself and enhancing her speeches is through the use of “Picture Exchange Communication System” (PECS). In PECS, picture cards are used to symbolize ideas and thoughts. The picture cards are used to encourage more spoken language. According to Spencer, Petersen and Gillam (2008), the PECS, is a method adopted by teachers or therapist to help children with Autism in their communication skills, especially for those who are non verbal. According to Bondy and Frost (1994), when using PECS, the child will goes through 6 phases during the learning process, they are: Teaching the physically assisted exchange, expanding spontaneity, simultaneous discrimination of pictures, building sentence structure, responding to “What do you want?”, commenting in response to a question and finally introducing additional language concept (Phase 6 and beyond). For Annie’s case, I feel it is applicable to her because she will require assistance to help her further enhanced her communication skills. I feel Annie could start at phase 4 where she is taught to ask for requests by using “I want”, as she had already acquire the fundamental skills in spoken language. As Annie is requesting for something, the picture on “I want” is already attached to a board, thus, Annie needs to pick a picture card which reflect what she wants and place onto the board. The purpose of the intervention is to provide Annie the opportunity to produce speech and not to replace speech with the picture cards. Teachers should continue to use words or sentences to help the child to form sentences during the process.
From the case study, I gained an understanding that Annie is probably a child who uses minimal verbal communication to express herself, hence, when she is upset with her peers; she exhibited inappropriate behavior for example, biting her classmates to demonstrate her intension, or becomes withdrawn to the group of children when she is being teased by them. Hence, one of the interventions could be adopted to help Annie in expressing herself and enhancing her speeches is through the use of “Picture Exchange Communication System” (PECS). In PECS, picture cards are used to symbolize ideas and thoughts. The picture cards are used to encourage more spoken language. According to Spencer, Petersen and Gillam (2008), the PECS, is a method adopted by teachers or therapist to help children with Autism in their communication skills, especially for those who are non verbal. According to Bondy and Frost (1994), when using PECS, the child will goes through 6 phases during the learning process, they are: Teaching the physically assisted exchange, expanding spontaneity, simultaneous discrimination of pictures, building sentence structure, responding to “What do you want?”, commenting in response to a question and finally introducing additional language concept (Phase 6 and beyond). For Annie’s case, I feel it is applicable to her because she will require assistance to help her further enhanced her communication skills. I feel Annie could start at phase 4 where she is taught to ask for requests by using “I want”, as she had already acquire the fundamental skills in spoken language. As Annie is requesting for something, the picture on “I want” is already attached to a board, thus, Annie needs to pick a picture card which reflect what she wants and place onto the board. The purpose of the intervention is to provide Annie the opportunity to produce speech and not to replace speech with the picture cards. Teachers should continue to use words or sentences to help the child to form sentences during the process.
(ii) Its effectiveness (as reported in the journal article)
Kravits, Kamp, Kemmerer and Potucek (2002) conducted a study on the effectiveness of PECS on a 6 years old child’s communication and social interaction skills. Before the intervention, the child used mostly non verbal communications such as smile and gestures. However, with the use of PECS over a period of time, the child’s results have revealed an increase in spontaneous language, she began to ask question, take initiatives and provided feedbacks in school as well as at home. Her length of period with peer interaction was also measured and it showed there was an increase in duration.
Kravits, Kamp, Kemmerer and Potucek (2002) conducted a study on the effectiveness of PECS on a 6 years old child’s communication and social interaction skills. Before the intervention, the child used mostly non verbal communications such as smile and gestures. However, with the use of PECS over a period of time, the child’s results have revealed an increase in spontaneous language, she began to ask question, take initiatives and provided feedbacks in school as well as at home. Her length of period with peer interaction was also measured and it showed there was an increase in duration.
(iii) Your personal evaluation how the child will benefit from this intervention
I feel Annie will benefit from this intervention, if it is carried out consistently and appropriately in school with the teachers and as well as extended into home learning with her parents. This intervention has been proven to be successful for children with non verbal or minimal communication, these children have shown improvement and made progress in their spoken language, and hence, I feel Annie will be able to benefit from it as well, as her condition is not very severe. Annie will require constant reinforcement and encouragement as she moved towards the goal.
(iv) Your suggestions how you can make adjustments to cater to the needs of the child and to facilitate integration of the child / the intervention activity into your classroom.
I feel besides receiving help from the adults, such as the parents, teachers and the therapists, peer influence and interaction also plays a vital role. The children were teasing Annie because they do not understand her condition, and what causes Annie to react towards them when she is feeling upset or shy. The teacher needs to talk to the children about Annie and think of ways on how they can help her as a class together.
In addition, with the intervention provided to Annie to help her increase her speech, the teacher should also assist Annie in responding towards her peers, instead of becoming withdrawn each time her peers teased her of her condition. As the interventions advance, it is important to conduct frequent updates with Annie’s parents on her progress. They could share with each other if the method they were using is effective for Annie and when is Annie ready to achieve the next phase. To allow Annie to have a good experience during the interventions, teachers and parents are encouraged to focus on Annie’s interest or strength areas to achieve the areas that needed attention in. During lesson time, the teacher may need to use a variety of tools or techniques to keep both Annie and other children engaged.
References:
Spencer, T.D., Peterson, D.B. & Gillam, S.L. (2008). Picture exchange communication system (PECS) or sign language. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35048338&site=ehost-live
Spencer, T.D., Peterson, D.B. & Gillam, S.L. (2008). Picture exchange communication system (PECS) or sign language. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://search.ebscohost.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=35048338&site=ehost-live
Bondy, A.S. & Frost, L.A. (1994). The picture exchange communication system. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from
http://search.ebscohost.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9410195336&site=ehost-live
Kravits, T,R., Kamps, D.M., Kemmerer, K. & Potucek, J. (2002). Brief Report: Increasing Communication Skills for an Elementary-Aged Student with Autism Using the Picture Exchange Communication System. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=104&sid=45b79058-5462-4058-83a1-07ff99dc73d0%40sessionmgr10
Kravits, T,R., Kamps, D.M., Kemmerer, K. & Potucek, J. (2002). Brief Report: Increasing Communication Skills for an Elementary-Aged Student with Autism Using the Picture Exchange Communication System. Retrieved on September 8, 2009, from http://web.ebscohost.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/ehost/pdf?vid=7&hid=104&sid=45b79058-5462-4058-83a1-07ff99dc73d0%40sessionmgr10
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