I've never used PECS as they are 'meant to be used'...before i even new about aspergers i had already stuck post-it notes around the house as prompts and reminders.......FOR ME!
(a stage on from that which 'everyone does '...mine were things to remind me what i was doing...what i shouldn't do....keep me focussed....reduce my distractions....I'd even add simple sketches- using different colur pens...all because i HAD to do this...not because i'd been told.9 I now have a DX of OCD... but see lots of ADHD/AS in me too. Diagnosis is not important- its the strategies that matter)
that was even before i had children!!!
so...moving on to NOW and modifying PECS as you both described.
DS1 (currently) has a post-it note 'list' (1 per note) of what he needs to do- and in his case- if they are not there- he cannot remember what he should do- which is frustrating for him- and DH does not get it at all...so he will for example tell ds to do a 'non specific' task- and still be shocked when he gets a stroppy grumpy teenage reply...whereas when i use the post-it notes...i give him say 5 individual tasks and he does them...and in much less time than he'd take if i were directing him- as he is very confrontational at the moment- so him getting on with things alone is much better for the peace and tranquility i crave and fantisis about!!!
DS2 has a visual timetable at school- so everytime he gets muddled at home he shouts angrily at me that he needs a timetable....so a timetable he will now have. His will also have a 'how i feel today' space...as he often brings me notes where he has written 'cross' or drawn a sad face- as his way of telling me he is feeling that way...and this is in a child who is cosidered very verbal!!! So for a child who has a dx of language delay....descriptive pictures of how they feel, what they did at school etc would be fantastic.
I shall make ds2 one for just that...it can be his 'story board'...he can stick on it what he did each day
I'm also finally labeling all drawers and toy boxes in ds2 &3's room with laminated pictures of what goes inside them....ds2 is disorganised yet frustrated if he cannot find something.HE has not put away.
I'd recomment each picture be outlined in a colour which would link similar pictures together- so the child would then see that for example 'emotional' pictures are edged in yellow, 'inappropriate behaviours' with red, 'desired' behaviours with green, 'activities at school' with purple.... if that makes sense.
or behaviours could be linked to a traffic light- red,amber & green.....
older children may like a themometer type thing where you stick an arrow where they 'are at' that day on the themometre
anger managment is something we can use the laminator for too...no not to seal the child up in a pouch!...but to make a volcano - and get the child to stick their cosen picture exactly where they feel on the volcano...calm...erupting etc.... (we used one for the adults in the parenting group i attended- we had to stick our post-it note where we felt we were when we arrived at the group- and then move it elsewhere on the volcano IF we felt we needed to before we went home)
i'll post more if i have any more ideas...i feel i am talking aload of &*"!£ today.... so will try to 'arrange my thoughts' on paper before i return!!!
He's also very funny about what we call 'what day,what time'...his reaction whenever anyting is planned- so will use a separate one for daily plans.