The Pennsylvania State University Augmentative and Alternative Communication Mentor Project

Penn State AAC Mentor Project - Sharing the Knowledge of AAC Users

About This Site

Establishing a Mentor Project

Outcomes

Further Information

Conclusion

What is a mentor?

What is the Penn State AAC Mentor Project?

What is the purpose of this website?

Who might be interested in this website?

About This Site
What is the Penn State AAC Mentor Project?

The Penn State AAC Mentor Project is a mentoring project that was designed for people with significant communication disabilities. There are an estimated two million people in the United States who have significant communication disabilities. These individuals are unable to rely on their speech to meet all of their communication needs. They require augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems to enhance their communication.

AAC systems include, for example,

gestures and pantomime
manual signs
communication boards with photographs, line drawings, or the alphabet
electronic communication aids with speech output.

Individuals who require AAC may have

developmental disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, or mental retardation
acquired disabilities such as those resulting from a stroke or from a traumatic brain injury from a motor vehicle accident, or
degenerative neurological conditions such as ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease).

Individuals who require AAC face significant challenges in their daily lives at home, at school, at work, and in the community.

The Penn State AAC Mentor Project was developed by Janice Light, David McNaughton, Carole Krezman, and Michael Williams. The goal of the project was to link adolescents and young adults who use AAC from across the country with adults who also used AAC. These adults had successfully overcome many challenges and had achieved important goals in their educational, vocational, social, and personal lives. They served as mentors and role models to the adolescents and young adults who used AAC. They offered a rich source of disability-related information, effective problem-solving strategies, and encouragement.

The adolescents and young adults who participated in the AAC Mentor Project came from many different states across the United States. They were linked individually with a mentor via the Internet. Each mentor and protégé exchanged E-mails regularly sharing their experiences, discussing goals, and trying to solve problems. Thirty adult AAC mentors and more than 30 adolescents and young adults who used AAC participated in the Penn State AAC Mentor Project.