Shortly after moving to the town where we now live I met a lady who is also an Autism parent. We chatted several times and during one conversation I told her I was struggling with PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) because I could never find the right picture when I needed it. Bethany was still very nonverbal and we had a lot of pictures. I couldn’t figure out how to organise them.

“Velcro.” She said. “Velcro strips on the wall and Velcro dots on the back of each picture.” I was amazed. What a great idea! I took her advice and ordered a load of velcro and by the end of the week I had a system that actually worked.

We used those pictures for now and next boards, to help Bethany understand what to expect. Eventually she began to bring us pictures to tell us what she needed or wanted. We would say the word in the picture and eventually she started to say the words too.

I looked at my PECS last week and realised it has been a long time since we have used it. Our daughter is now a functional verbal communicator! She is still unable to carry on a “regular conversation” and sometimes she is hard to understand, but she has functional speech and we are so thankful.

Tonight John took down the pictures and the velcro. It’s no longer needed. I’m so proud of my girl.