MIDVALE -- As a toddler, Krista used to hold her breath and pass out -- so often that the tantrums were mistaken for seizures.
But her adoptive mother, Donna Spivey, a special education teacher at Jordan Valley School, discovered the episodes were due to frustration, rooted in the autism that blocked Krista from speaking.Krista is now a calm 5-year-old who discovered her voice in pictures two years ago. Her success is partly credited to the Picture Exchange Communication System, which teachers at Jordan Valley and across the country say works wonders with students.
"I forget how far she's come. Her mom has just driven it and had these high expectations and believed in her," said Rita Bouillon, who oversees the program at Jordan Valley, a school for children with severe, multiple disabilities.
Autism is a developmental disability that affects the parts of the brain controlling social interaction and communication skills. Therefore, people with autism often have difficulties communicating with and relating to the outside world.
Professionals have used several methods to teach children with autism and other disorders how to communicate. But other programs are not all effective.
Speech therapy requires children to parrot words. But it takes a long time, and meanwhile, children cannot effectively express themselves.
Sign language requires prerequisite skills, such as language concepts and muscle control, that some children may not have.
Some therapists present children with pictures they can point at to express what they want. But sometimes, motor skills aren't refined enough, and some children have been observed not even looking at the pictures they point to.
But the Picture Exchange Communication System, developed at the Delaware Autistic Program, is different. Children learn to choose and present a picture of what they want, then receive tangible rewards for doing so.
Better yet, the system, which is being used for children with autism and severe communication disorders across the United States, does not require high-tech skills, expensive equipment or staff and parent training.
"The beauty of PES is it teaches them to initiate the spontaneous," Bouillon said. "It's been awesome. We have been astonished with the speech that's developed."
Here's how it works:
The instructor watches the child at play to see what she likes best, then uses that item to teach communication. If raisins are the ticket, the instructor will hold a raisin. When the child reaches for it, she is presented with a picture of the raisin and guided to put it in the instructor's hand. Only then will the instructor respond and give up the raisin -- a tangible reward.
For example, Krista last week wanted to sing her favorite ditty, "If You're Happy and You Know It Clap Your Hands." She opened her book of about a hundred pictures and constructed a picture sentence on a strip of Velcro. She handed the strip to Bouillon, who said: "Oh! Krista wants to sing a song!" Bouillon, who has taught speech and language therapy to people with autism for 18 years, sang while Krista clapped in rhythm.
The process is repeated, with the instructor moving away from the child to force persistence. More pictures are added over time.
"I've really been excited" about the program, special education teacher Penny Harris said, while receiving pictures of Froot Loops from student Seth. "It's a program kids really have control over."
Bouillon does not expect her students, many of whom have other severe disabilities, to speak. But spoken words are becoming a by-product of the program.
Yet with those who never talk, the pictures offer a window to the mind, once draped by frustration. Some children are moving past basic communication to answering questions about colors and shapes. Older students who have moved into the work force use the pictures to communicate with their bosses and colleagues.
The program is not limited to Jordan Valley. Bouillon trains people statewide to use the program, available in Cedar City, Vernal, Manila and Jordan District schools, among others.
The State Office of Education will host a January training session on the program. The workshop is full, "which to me is incredible. It means there's a need and interest out there," Bouillon said.
"We want these kids to be independent and control their lives."
Each month the Deseret News education page will feature an innovative idea that's making a difference in Utah schools.