Research in AAC
The AAC Mentor Project
What are the goals of the project?
The AAC Mentor Project was developed to link adolescents and young adults who use AAC
with mentors via the Internet. These adolescents and young adults are looking for
encouragement and assistance as they set goals and try to overcome challenges. The
mentors are adults who use AAC and who have been successful in their education, work,
family, or social lives. Mentors are trained in effective communication skills,
problem-solving and goal-setting skills, and knowledge of how to find disability
resources. These skills are developed through a self-study course on the Internet,
and participation in a listserv (an email discussion group) with the other mentors
on the project.
What is the project plan?
Thirty adult AAC mentors were recruited and trained in effective communication skills,
collaborative problem solving and goal setting, and accessing disability-related resources.
Strategy instruction for the leadership training course took place via on-line training
modules on the project’s website. This self-study course allowed individuals who use AAC
to progress through the training program at their own pace, while allowing people who are
geographically distanced from the instructors to benefit through distance education.
Upon completion of the training, the mentors were matched with adolescents and young adults
who use AAC (30 in total) to develop supportive one-on-one relationships via E-mail interactions
over the course of a year.
The final stage of the project will involve summarizing the outcomes, procedures, and efficacy
data for both the training course and the mentoring interactions for further dissemination.
What is the potential impact of this research?
Mentoring has been used in many other fields to link more experienced people (mentors) with
less experienced people (protégés) to help the protégés with many life activities. These
experiences have traditionally been limited for individuals who use AAC, due to physical,
social, economic, and attitudinal barriers. Mentors can provide guidance and share knowledge
with protégés. The Mentor Project was designed to help individuals who use AAC meet each other,
and build supportive Mentor-Protégé relationships through a structured network. These
relationships are mutually beneficial to both mentors and protégés.
Who is working on the project?
The AAC Mentor Project team includes Janice Light, Ph.D. (Principal Investigator), David
McNaughton, Ph.D. (Co-Investigator), Carole Krezman, Michael Williams, Kevin Cohen, Jessica
Currall, Alix Galskoy, Maija Gulens, and Marleah Herman.
What is the funding source?
This research is supported by the
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR, Grant #H133G980044).
What is the timeline for the project?
Years One and Two (1998-1999)
- The researchers developed a leadership training program for the first group of mentors,
recruited mentors, implemented the training program for the first group of mentors, and helped
mentors to meet their proteges.
Years Two and Three (1999-2000)
-
The researchers implemented the training program for the second group of mentors and helped
them to meet their protégés.
Years One - Three (1998-2001)
- Researchers will gather and organize disability resources and efficacy data from the
project for further dissemination.
Where can I find out more about the project?
For more information, contact Dr. Janice Light. AACmentor@psu.edu
Information about the results of the first study were presented at the 2000 conference of
the International Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ISAAC) in Washington,
D.C.
Light, J., McNaughton, D., Krezman, C., Williams, M., Gulens, M., Currall, J., Galskoy, A.,
Herman, M., & Cohen, K. (August, 2000). The Mentor Project: Sharing the knowledge of AAC users.
Miniseminar presented at the biennial conference of the International Society for Augmentative
and Alternative Communication (ISAAC), Washington, DC.
Cohen, K. & Light, J. (in press). Use of electronic communication to develop mentor-protégé
relationships between adolescent AAC users and adults who are competent AAC communicators:
A pilot study. Augmentative and Alternative Communication.
McNaughton, D., Light, J., Krezman, C., Williams, M., & Cohen, K. (1998). The Mentor Project:
Sharing the knowledge of AAC users. In R.V. Conti & C. Jenkins-Odorisio (Eds.). Proceedings
of the Sixth Pittsburgh Employment Conference for Augmented Communicators (pp.75-78).
Pittsburgh, PA: Shout Press.
Visit the Mentor Project website
for program updates.
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