Evaluating the effectiveness of the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) for children with autism

ISRCTN	ISRCTN58763208
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN58763208
Protocol serial number	TGT 4/TGT39
Sponsor	St George's University of London (UK)
Funder	Three Guineas Trust (UK)

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Prof Patricia Howlin
Scientific

Dept of Community Health Sciences
St George's University of London
Tooting
London
SW17 0RE
United Kingdom

Phone	+44 (0)208 725 5604

Primary study design	Interventional
Study design	Randomised controlled trial
Secondary study design	Randomised controlled trial
Scientific title
Study objectives	Training in PECS will result in significant increases in rate of use of PECS symbols, rate of social initiations, and scores on language tests.
Ethics approval(s)	Not provided at time of registration
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Autism
Intervention	Intervention: Training children to use the Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS) in schools. It is a randomized group trial of immediate intervention, versus delayed intervention, versus no intervention (assessment only).
Intervention type	Other
Primary outcome measure(s)	Increase in use of PECS symbols; increase in rates of social initiations
Key secondary outcome measure(s)	Increase in scores on tests of language expression and comprehension (Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test, & British Picture Vocabulary Scale)
Completion date	31/12/2005

Participant type(s)	Patient
Age group	Child
Lower age limit	5 Years
Upper age limit	9 Years
Sex	All
Target sample size at registration	90
Key inclusion criteria	Children meeting diagnositc criteria for autism; aged 5-9 years; enrolled in full-time, specialist education; either no spoken language or expressive language limited to single words; not using PECS beyoind Stage 1.
Key exclusion criteria	No exclusion criteria with regard to IQ, social class, ethnicity etc.
Date of first enrolment	01/01/2003
Date of final enrolment	31/12/2005

Dept of Community Health Sciences

London
SW17 0RE
United Kingdom

Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	No
IPD sharing plan summary	Not provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Output type	Details	Date created	Date added	Peer reviewed?	Patient-facing?
Results article	results	01/05/2007		Yes	No