Effects of an iPad-based Speech-Generating Device Infused into Instruction with the Picture Exchange Communication System for Adolescents and Young Adults with Severe Autism Spectrum Disorder
Sliding an iPad SGD into PECS quickly teaches older, severely autistic learners to request, yet spoken language gains stay hit-or-miss.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers mixed an iPad speech app into PECS lessons for three teens and young adults with severe autism. They used a multiple-baseline design to see if the tech would help the students ask for things.
The team followed the usual PECS steps, but after each picture exchange the learner tapped the iPad to hear the word. Sessions ran until each person could request at least ten different items.
What they found
Every participant learned to tap the iPad to ask for toys or snacks. The skill moved to new items without extra teaching.
Spoken words did not grow much. One student said a few new sounds, but clear speech stayed rare for all three.
How this fits with other research
Doughty et al. (2002) showed that classic PECS alone can spark new spoken words in young children. The 2019 study keeps the PECS frame but swaps in an iPad and finds little speech growth, hinting that the device, not the method, may mute vocal gains.
Foti et al. (2015) also used iPads with nonverbal kids and saw big jumps in requests, matching the 2019 result. Both studies show the tablet works; the difference is the 2019 team embedded the tech inside PECS phases for older learners.
Carr et al. (2007) warned that only one in five children gains speech after brief PECS. The 2019 outcome echoes that warning: iPad or not, natural talking remains a bonus, not a promise.
Why it matters
If you serve teens or young adults who still lack speech, adding an iPad SGD to PECS is a low-risk way to build requesting. You can keep your PECS data sheets and simply insert the tablet after the picture exchange. Just do not bank on the gadget to create spoken words—track vocal trials separately and stay ready to add speech-specific interventions if talking is the goal.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study used a multiple baseline, single-subject research design to investigate the efficacy of an iPad®-based speech-generating device (SGD). The iPad was equipped with the SPEAKall!® application to function as a SGD. SGDs are a form of aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) allowing a user to communicate using digitized and/or synthesized speech. Instruction followed a modified version of the intervention phases from the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS). This modified PECS protocol was implemented with two adolescents and one young adult between the ages of 14 and 23. All three participants were diagnosed with severe autism spectrum disorder and little to no functional speech. Dependent measures included the ability to request for edible and tangible items as the primary measure, and the ability to engage in natural speech production as an ancillary measure to determine simultaneous, additive effects on speech acquisition. Results indicated increases in requesting behaviors for all three participants across intervention and maintenance phases. Once participants mastered requesting of edible items, they were able to generalize the skill to tangible items. However, mixed results were found when targeting natural speech production. Based on the current findings, the infusion of an iPad-based SGD into PECS instruction may be effective in increasing initial requesting skills; however, a facilitative effect on increasing speech acquisition cannot necessarily be expected for every participant.
Behavior Modification, 2019 · doi:10.1177/0145445519870552