In This Issue PECS Survey PECS Media Contest

Greetings!

2012 SABA Award We have exciting news to share in this issue of The Pyramid Picture. We are featuring various contests centered around the celebration of our 20th anniversary, sharing fantastic PECS success stories, and honoring the tremendous achievement our very own Andy Bondy, Ph.D. will receive this month! We hope you enjoy the Spring 2012 Edition of The Pyramid Picture! Kind Regards, Pyramid Educational Consultants 20 Yr. Celebration In Celebration of Pyramid’s 20th Anniversary, ALL workshop attendees registered for a training during the months of April & May will be automatically entered for a chance to win an exclusive PECS Prize Pack!!* (prize valued at over $200.00) Click Here for Upcoming Trainings!

Host your own workshop this July and receive a special discount! E-mail Stefanie Levendis at [email protected] for more information!

We kindly ask you to take a moment of your time and fill out the 2012 PECS Survey. This survey will help us strive even more and bring you exceptional product and services to the autism and special needs community. Please click below! (Your answers will be completely anonymous.) http://www.pecsusa.com/survey/index.php?sid=43864&lang=en

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*Contest winner will be notified via e-mail after May 31st, 2012. All registered attendees for a Pyramid Sponsored Workshop during the months of April & May 2012 are eligible. Prize not entitled to cash value.

Creative Expressions The following photo was taken at the Karen M. Siegel Academy in Lake Alfred, Florida. The Karen M. Siegel Academy is a public school in Polk County, FL that serves 162 students from ages 3-22 years old with a variety of special needs from autism to significantly physically challenged. The sign reads, we love them a bushel and a PECS.

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Andy Bondy is on Twitter!

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Follow his tweets at: http://twitter.com/#!/asbondy Andy will focus on relevant news, exciting research developments and new products and services. Follow Andy Today!

PECS Media Contest Pyramid Educational Consultants is proud to announce the celebration of 20 years of products and services by hosting a Media Contest! Show us through your videos or photographs that you and/or your learners can successfully communicate using the Picture Exchange Communication System™ (PECS). The imagery that best illustrates the use of PECS will win up to $1000 in Pyramid Products! Click Here to Enter!

Do you have a question pertaining to PECS or The Pyramid Approach to Education? Do you have a story idea for future newsletters?

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Don't stay in the dark, contact us with your questions! E-mail Nina at [email protected] and we will do our best to assist you!

"This is my second time attending the PECS Basic Training and I always find it very useful. I have also attended the PECS Advanced Training as well. All of your books, materials and product are great and very helpful in the classroom." Special Education Teacher, Pipestone, MN

Advanced Trainings

Take PECS to the Next Level with the PECS Advanced Training! Register for any upcoming Advanced Training in 2012 and receive $10.00 OFF the tuition fee. Click here for Advanced Training dates and locations.

Andy Bondy Receives 2012 SABA Award We are very excited to announce our very own Andy Bondy, PhD, co-creator of the Picture Exchange Communication System™ (PECS™) and co-founder of Pyramid Educational Consultants, will receive the 2012 Society for the Advancement of Behavior Analysis (SABA) Award for International Dissemination of Behavior Analysis. Bondy will be presented with the honor for his continued dedication to expanding the growth of behavior analysis internationally. The award ceremony will be held during the Association for Behavior Analysis International (ABAI) Convention in Seattle, Washington on May 26th, 2012. Bondy has dedicated the last four decades to behavior analysis and its link to functional communication. The field of Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) is based on the study of behavior under observable conditions. Bondy developed The Pyramid Approach to Education™ as a way of organizing the complex factors that are necessary to create effective educational environments. Bondy and Lori Frost, MS, CCC-SLP created the evidence-based and the world renowned Picture Exchange Communication System™ (PECS™).

“This honor reflects the hard work and dedication of many consultants and office staff from around the world. Each person within Pyramid has contributed to the functional emphasis of PECS and the Pyramid Approach to Education,” says Bondy. For over fourteen years, Bondy served as the director of a statewide public school system for students with autism. He has frequently been invited to speak on a wide range of topics at regional, national, and international conferences, and has published numerous papers and books.

The SABA Awards promotes the achievements of distinguished leaders who have developed programs or accomplishments in the field of behavior analysis. Since 1980, the Society has been providing funds to the field of behavior analysis through its awards, grants, and fellowship programs. For additional information, please click below: http://www.abainternational.org/Events/conv2012/index.as

Please e-mail [email protected] to receive the following special discount offer!

PECS Success! The following section features testimonials from parents and professionals who have attended one of our workshops.

"I loved that the PECS Advanced Training allowed for a more collaborative

"Great success with a boy with Fragile X Syndrome. Started at Phase I this fall and now are at Phase IV-B. The best part is that he was totally nonverbal and now has about 15 words. The parents brought new words he says at home to the IEP 3

environment. I learned a lot from the other attendees." Speech Language Assistant, Boston, MA

meeting this week. So great to witness!" - Laura, Ohio "We had a student who came into our program completely non-verbal, after 7 months of intensive therapy and using PECS as his primary source of communication, he is now at Phase 4 and verbally producing approximations for all of the icons in his PECS book. -PECS Basic Training Participant, Philadelphia, PA Do you have an experience using PECS or The Pyramid Approach to Education you would like to share? If so, e-mail [email protected] and send us your story!

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We are now featuring a PECS or Pyramid Approach to Education product each month! This month we are super excited about the Size Container Activity. Check back monthly at www.pecsusa.com to find out which product is being featured! To teach the concepts of "big" and "little", we offer three boxes that are identical except for size. The medium sized box (6" x 6") can be paired with the large box (8" x 8") to teach the concept of "small," or the medium box can be paired with the small box (4" x 4") to teach the concept of "big". Also included is an Activity Board, laminated 1- 3/4" pictures, VELCRO® Brand loop VELCOINS® for each picture, and a detailed lesson plan. Activity Board may vary in color.

Regularly: $20.00 - MAY Only: $16.00 Click here to order!

PECS Phase III App for the iPad Available May 2012!

Select pictures from the library, or use your own photos! Tap a picture to hear the word spoken!

This great new application from Pyramid Educational Consultants is an invaluable tool for teaching picture discrimination according to the Picture Exchange Communication System™ (PECS™) protocol. Includes: Over 100 Pics for PECS™ images • voice on/off option • customizable

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library with your own pictures

"Like" PECS on Facebook for Helpful Tips and Current Information!

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PECS in Action on the Islands of Fiji!

Click on the link below for exciting news regarding PECS on the Islands of Fiji! http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=193538

2012 Walk for Autism We had the opportunity to participate in Autism Delaware's, "2012 Walk for Autism" on Saturday, April 21st, 2012, at Bellevue State Park in Wilmington, DE. This year, the turnout was fantastic, with numerous exhibitors and attendees partaking in this yearly worthwhile event.

The Walk is Autism Delaware’s largest community fundraiser, drawing over 2,000 people over two days of events in support of people and families affected by autism!

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Pictured: Nina Truehart, Alexis Bondy, from Pyramid Educational Consultants

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