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

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Establishing a Mentor Project
Step 5: Help protégés determine their individual goals

Back to Step 5.

Penn State's Experience: How did the protégés in the Penn State AAC Mentor Project select goals?

The Penn State AAC Mentor Project felt that the protégés would benefit from the mentoring program more if they went into the program with some goals in mind. Protégés were each sent an e-mail message asking them to think about the challenges in their lives and their dreams for the future. They were then asked to write down at least three goals for the mentor program. They were given some examples of goals that had been set by other adolescents and young adults who used AAC to start them thinking about their own goals. The examples included goals such as these:

"I will work with my mentor to identify at least 2 types of jobs that I would like and will find out about the duties in these jobs."
"I will work with my mentor to find at least 3 ways to get more information about living independently."
"I will work with my mentor to identify at least 2 ways to get more involved in my school or community (e.g., joining a club, volunteering), and I will try these strategies out."

Finally, the protégés were asked to send the Penn State AAC Mentor Project approximately 3 goals that they wanted their mentor to help them achieve. The protégés’ goals covered a wide range of issues from education to vocation to independent living to personal relationships to assistive technology. Most protégés set 3-4 goals; a few set more and a few decided to focus on one or two key issues alone.

Continue to Step 6.

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