Training Education Professionals to Use the Picture Exchange Communication System: a Review of the Literature

McCoy and colleagues pulled together every paper that taught school staff how to run PECS.

They looked at who got trained, what the workshop looked like, and if teachers still used the steps weeks later.

Right after training, teachers handed over picture cards and set up trials correctly.

Months later, many teachers used fewer steps or stopped using PECS altogether.

Extra coaching, video check-ups, or brief booster sessions helped the skills stick.

Preston et al. (2009) showed PECS gives kids a fast way to ask for things. McCoy shows the kids only get that benefit if the adult keeps doing the protocol.

Koudys et al. (2025) got parents to run PECS on Zoom with strong follow-up data. Their remote coaching model is one fix McCoy says staff training lacks.

Higbee et al. (2016) used computer lessons plus feedback to keep DTI skills high. The same combo—online modules plus video feedback—could fill the maintenance gap McCoy found for PECS.

You can run a one-day PECS workshop and see shiny data the next week, but that is not enough. Build in brief video check-ins, peer coaching, or monthly booster clips so teachers still swap pictures in the spring. If you do not plan for upkeep, the book and binder sit on the shelf and the kids lose their voice.