From Premack to PECS: 25 years of progress in communication intervention for individuals with developmental disabilities

Abstract

Educational and behavioural psychologists have made major contributions to the field of communication intervention for individuals with developmental and physical disabilities. A brief personal perspective is provided on some of the major works and contributors that have shaped the field over the past 25 years. Major contributions and personal influences include: (a) David Premack and other ape‐language researchers; (b) Reichle’s work on graphic‐mode communication; (c) Bondy and Frost’s Picture‐Exchange Communication System; and (d) a chance encounter with some unused communication devices. The advances made over the past 25 years in this area have been dramatic and have enabled many non‐speaking individuals with developmental and physical disabilities to communicate more effectively.