We are pleased to announce that the AAC Leadership Project (2022-2027) has been funded by the U.S. Department of Education (H325D220021). The grant funds will be used to support doctoral students who are interested in pursuing advanced degrees at Penn State University (in either Communication Sciences and Disorders, or Special Education) on the topic of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC).
Dr. David McNaughton (Principal Investigator) and Penn State faculty Dr. Janice Light , Dr. Jess Caron, and Dr. Krista Wilkinson will help to prepare the next generation of faculty for the field of AAC. All students will participate in mentored research and teaching activities, as well as develop their own line of research based on their personal interests. Students will have the opportunity to develop an individualized program including coursework offerings from Communication Sciences and Disorders, Special Education, and other graduate programs at Penn State .
All students will participate in four collaborative seminars in AAC
- Improving language and communication outcomes for beginning communicators who require AAC (Dr. Janice Light)
- Improving literacy outcomes for individuals who require AAC ( Dr. Jessica Caron)
- Collaboration to improve outcomes for high needs students who require AAC (Dr. David McNaughton)
- Enriching aided AAC intervention through cross-disciplinary discussions (Dr. Krista Wilkinson)
The AAC Leadership Grant will provide full tuition remission, medical insurance, a stipend to support living expenses, and financial support for research activities and conference attendance. Students will have the option to assist in the research activities of the RERC on AAC, a federally funded center on AAC engaged in a wide variety of research, development, training, and dissemination activities. Students also will have the opportunity to participate in the 2025 Doctoral Student AAC Research Think Tank ( as held in 2022, 2019, and 2017), and the 2024 RERC on AAC State of the Science in AAC Conference (as held in 2018).
The AAC Leadership Grant provides support for an unprecedented set of learning, teaching, and research opportunities. Our weekly colloquium sessions provide a snapshot of the wide range of student and faculty activities at Penn State (Fall, 2022 ; Spring, 2022). Come to Penn State and become a part of the next generation of AAC leadership: 11 of the 13 most used readings in AAC university courses were written by Penn State faculty or Penn State graduates! (Sauerwein & Burris, 2022)
We encourage interested students to apply by December 15, 2022.
Please contact Dr. David McNaughton at (DBM2@psu.edu)for more information.
References
AAC at PSU (2018) AAC Leadership Project Outcomes from 2011-2018
Sauerwein, A. M., & Burris, M. M. (2022). Augmentative and alternative communication course design and features: A survey of expert faculty and instructors. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 31(1), 221-238.
Publications by AAC Leadership Scholars
Patenaude, D., McNaughton, D., & Liang, Z. (2024). Using visual scene displays with young children: An evidence-based practice synthesis. Journal of Special Education Technology, 0(0) 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1177/01626434241263061
Brittlebank, S., Light, J. C., & Pope, L. (2024). A scoping review of AAC interventions for children and young adults with simultaneous visual and motor impairments: Clinical and research implications. Augmentative and Alternative Communication, 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/07434618.2024.2327044
