Level 2 – Early language

At this stage the pupil is intentionally using from twenty to fifty key meanings and may occasionally link these together into short sentences. PECS pupils are confidently using picture exchange to obtain their preferred toys, food or activities and are ready to pay more attention to the meanings of specific symbols and to expand the number of their choices, instead of relying mainly on context. Expressive communication will still include looking, facial expression, body language, pointing, and gesture etc, but will include more and more use of a formalized language system such as recognizable spoken or signed words, or symbol indications – often with several methods combined together in the same utterance.

Computer use will be more relevant at this stage, to support the development of basic concepts, receptive vocabulary and language, rather than as a means of expression. It is important that the focus of intervention should be on helping pupils to communicate effectively, not on teaching them to use technology per se.

Things to think about

How do we progress from ‘cause and effect’

Many pupils get ‘stuck’ with the same battery-operated toy or the same very basic software on the computer, allegedly ‘doing cause-and-effect’ – if they seem to have ‘got it’ at first then seem to lose it again, consider the possibility that they are horribly bored! To gain access to a wider range of curriculum material and language skill, they need to move on to activities that stretch them further, such as making specific selections from a range of possible choices. To do this they may need to develop and improve their computer control skills, so that they can move about the screen and make selections easily.

Improving control skills

A range of programs that require progressively more accuracy in the use of touch screens and pointing devices (mice, rollerballs, joysticks) can be used. Touch screen programs can be set to ‘touch the object’ rather than ‘touch anywhere’. Many programs offer language opportunities alongside the development of operational skills – Reveal, My World, SwitchIt! Scenes, Kaleidoscope.

For pupils with physical impairments who are switch users, this means learning to understand scanning (a cursor or highlight box that moves from item to item in an array of possible choices), and learning to time their switch press accurately (to stop the scanning cursor at the right moment). It may involve making a transition from a single switch to using two switches, if possible, or – harder – mastering an automatic scan (see Unit 8 – The development of switching skills).

Example programs – Blob for Windows, Foundation Mouse Skills, My World, BioBytes, SwitchIt! Pictures, Switch On Travel, SwitchIt! Scenes, Splatter, DoodlePlus as well as open content programs e.g. Clicker 4, Inclusive Writer, ChooseIt! Maker and Writing with Symbols 2000 for personalized activities such as finding the child’s name, pictures of their mum, dad, pets, house, friends, etc.

Help the pupil to use signs, symbols or VOCAs in active and interactive participation

Component parts of this are: attention, shared looking, listening, responding to non-verbal cues, anticipation, initiation, turn taking to maintain interaction, and timing. Circle time, story reading, and drama can provide a useful focus for developing these communication skills.

Using single VOCAs or digitized VOCAs with the facility to attach multiple switches, so that a group can all use the same VOCA, pupils (speaking and non-speaking) take turns to provide the repeated catch phrase in a story or song broken down into separate parts e.g. “I’ll huff and I’ll puff – and I’ll blow your house down”; “Incey wincey spider / climbed up the water spout / , down came the rain / “, etc.

Scenario 9

Mairi and her group love stories and are already well used to operating a single-message VOCA to take turns to say the repetitive line. Mairi needs to move on a little, read more age-appropriate texts, do more sophisticated listening, and take more control over the turn-taking process. The alternate lines of a number of whole story texts have been programmed into a Chatbox (digitized VOCA), one per location in a progressive sequence (one story per level / theme). An overlay for each story has been prepared, with a key symbol of the message to indicate the content of each location. Mairi and an adult partner can read the whole books together, taking turns. There is a big red sticky label ‘dot’ positioned on the story book page at the beginning of each line that Mairi is to ‘say’; she has to pay more attention to the text on the page, and follow the reader’s finger (even if she is not actually reading every word). When she is more used to this process, the plan is to ask an older pupil from the mainstream school to come in to the Unit to be a story buddy to do this special kind of paired reading with Mairi, and hopefully to go to the library with her, to choose stories for the activity.

Key skills and equipment

The key skills for the above examples are the ability to:

• record messages into a Chatbox (multiple location / multiple level digitized VOCA)
• change the theme and overlay on the VOCA (to have several stories available)

The key equipment is:

• Chatbox (multiple location / multiple level digitized VOCA)
• story books with spots / stars at the beginning of each section that has been recorded into the VOCA

Tip: Pupils using AAC also need to see a good role model of someone using their communication system effectively. The model needs to be more sophisticated than their own current level, but simple enough for them to follow and hopefully to imitate.

When pupils do express themselves, e.g. through signing or pointing to symbols, perhaps with telegrammatic utterances, these can be expanded by the adult in the same communication medium (rather than ‘corrected’ through the spoken medium). This is how young pupils learn spoken language.

Also, ensure that vocabulary taught and made available to the pupil is not just of ‘things’ but also includes a balance of verbs, adjectives, feelings, adverbs prepositions, etc.

Once the pupil has learned lots more symbols, organize these so that he / she can find and access them for language and communication functions, not just participation.

Scenario 10

Language unit teacher Mrs C., together with the speech and language therapist, created a stack of eight and sixteen-location symbol and word overlays for a Macaw (digitized VOCA), lists of suggested messages and a simple to follow wall-chart guide to reprogramming (so that classroom SNAs can quickly set up a new game). Kevin, who is non-speaking, is empowered in a game of ‘Simon Says’ by pressing the Macaw, telling his classmates (and adult staff) what to do, deciding whether they have done it satisfactorily, and listening when it is the turn of other pupils to press. Vocabulary is progressively more complex and cognitively demanding as the levels increase. The level is set by the teacher.

Level 1. overlays have messages such as: “jump”, “hop”, “sleep”, “eat”
Level 2. overlays include: “touch your head”, “wave your hand”
Level 3. overlays include: “hide under the table”, “hide behind the door”
Level 4. overlays include: “look happy”, “look frightened”

Pupils and adults carrying out these actions have been photographed with the digital camera. These pictures have been used in wall charts with full sentences (with symbols) as labels.

Key skills and equipment

The key skills for the above examples are the ability to:

• record messages into a multiple location / multiple level VOCA
• make overlays with symbols for the actions and one location for ‘Simon says’
• organize equipment into packs with clear instructions on how to use the contents

The key equipment is:

• multiple location / multiple level digitized VOCA with appropriate overlays

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