Running Head: ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES 1

Past Practice

Educators are constantly searching for ways to serve students with little or no speech and

communication abilities. Over the years, many different systems that use pictures and symbols

have been developed to help these children communicate. One example is the Picture Exchange

Communication System (PECS). By using PECS, children with speech deficits are taught to

initiate communication by motioning to a picture of their desired request, thought or need (“The

Picture Exchange Communication System,” 2020). PECS are made up of many different picture

and symbol cards that students can point at to communicate with teachers and peers. It is

typically organized into a binder or book where students are able to flip through the cards to

locate their desired picture or word for communication. These binders can range from simple to

complex as the learner develops their communication skills. They can have upwards of 400

conversation cards. Though these cards can be incredibly helpful and effective, they require a

great deal of preparation by the teacher or aid. It takes time to customize and organize the cards

to suit the needs of the learner (Collette, et al., 2019). Often times PECS can also be limiting to

students when there is not a card for exactly what they are trying to communicate. An emerging

assistive technology that can address these limitations is digital speech generating devices. These

devices “contain prerecorded or programmed words, phrases, or sentences, and upon selection of

the item the device produces a speech output” (Collette, et al., 2019, p 145). One example is a

symbol-supported communication app called Proloquo2Go. Proloquo2Go is more effective than

PECS for many reasons.

Emerging Assistive Technology

One major benefit is its vast response choices and voice output capabilities. The student

can simply select a picture or symbol on the touch screen of the device and it will generate the
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speech out loud for everyone to hear. This encourages more conversation and communication,

rather than just pointing to a picture and trying to figure out its meaning. It includes over 8,000

customizable symbols and photographs that can be organized in a variety of different ways on a

screen (Collette, et al., 2019). Proloquo2Go encourages more activity and communication among

speech limited students with their peers and their teachers. It provides many more easily

accessible choices that can be organized to best suit the learners growing and changing needs.

Installation and Maintenance

Another benefit of Proloquo2Go over PECS is how efficient it is to update and modify.

PECS on the other hand, is much more difficult and time consuming to change out and re-

organize as the learner develops. Proloquo2Go is a simple one-time-download app that can be

manually or automatically updated as the software changes. This software can be accessed by

purchase from the app store on any iOS supported device such as iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. It

is user friendly, and most important, it is kid friendly.

Estimated Cost

Although PECS is a low-technology language intervention, it still comes at a price. A

communication starter binder is $120. As the learner develops and their skills and needs change,

add-on packages range from $20 to $75 for a pack. After a while those may begin to add up,

especially if a classroom or school is servicing more than one student. Proloquo2Go has a high

dollar price tag as well but seems to be more bang for your buck. After the initial purchase of a

device to download the program to, the software itself costs $250. The benefit of this one-time-

purchase is that the program grows with the child. There is no need to continually buy add-ons

and updates. It can also be set up under “accounts” to be used for multiple children, whereas

PECS is much more specific to one student.

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Conclusion

Both PECS and Proloquo2Go have many benefits for children with speech and language

disabilities. With the addition of these supports, especially those with speech generating

capabilities, children who are non-verbal are more able to actively participate and communicate

their needs in the classroom. With the help of these assistive technologies and others, teachers

are better able to serve students with exceptional needs in the classroom.
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References

Collette, D., Brix, A., Brennan, P., DeRoma, N., & Muir, B. (2019). Proloquo2Go Enhances

Classroom Performance in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder. OTJR:

Occupation, Participation and Health, 39(3), 143–150.

https://doi.org/10.1177/1539449218799451

The Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). (2020). Retrieved July 06, 2020, from

https://www.nationalautismresources.com/the-picture-exchange-communication-system-

pecs/