Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Peer Support Project

A Message from the Project Director:

Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, UCEDD co-Director
Melanie Fried-Oken, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, UCEDD co-Director

Welcome to the webpage for the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Peer Support Project.  

We are a group of AAC users, researchers and providers, and representatives from disability and self-advocacy organizations located across the U.S. Our goal is to develop recommendations for a national plan about peer supports for people who need or use AAC. We have been working together since March, 2024 and can boast of the engagement, passion, commitment, and productivity of many AAC stakeholders to reach our goal. I often say that this project is magical within the field of AAC.  

We invite you to explore our webpage and examine our work on peer supports and activities to support everyone who needs or uses AAC.

~Dr. Melanie Fried-Oken

Partners:

  • CommunicationFIRST
  • Our federal funder: Administration for Community Living (ACL)
  • Our contractual partner: The Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD)
Communication First logo

What is the goal of the AAC Peer Support Project?

Our goal is to advance the use of peer support models for people who use or need Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) through the creation of a nationwide, comprehensive, consensus-based approach. We hope to answer:

  1. What peer supports exist for AAC users now?
  2. What peer support models exist outside the field of AAC that may be applicable to AAC?
  3. Can we create a nationwide resource for developing peer support models for people who use or need AAC?

The results of this project will be used to develop recommendations for a national plan about peer supports and activities for people who need or use AAC. 

What does our process look like?

  1. Conduct a survey of AAC users and peer supports 
  2. Identify and present different peer support models and discuss their outcomes 
  3. Conduct a systematic literature review 
  4. Identify barriers and opportunities, with attention to multiply marginalized communities 
  5. Examine models, approaches and activities for AAC advancement 
  6. Build consensus on initial findings and recommendations 
  7. Draft a final report on our findings and recommendations for a national plan 

Survey of AAC users

To AAC Users within the U.S., we asked:

  1. What tools and techniques do you rely on for expression?
    View the results
    View the plain text version
     
  2. What are your experiences with peer supports? 
    View the results
    View the plain text version

To national AAC community members, we requested:

  1. Descriptions of peer support models that you have experience with, inside and outside the AAC field
    View the results
     
  2. Scoping review of publications and presentations about AAC peer supports
    Results coming soon

Word cloud results from a survey asking: "What words come to mind when you think of peer support?"

A word cloud showing a graphical display of word frequency giving a greater emphasis to words that appeared more frequently in the survey.
A graphical display of word frequency that emphasizes words that appeared more times in the survey. Some of the words that were submitted most frequently include trust, respect, friendship, empowerment, community, honoring everyone, no judgement, shared experience, having each other's backs, reciprocal, camaraderie, and learning from each other.

What is AAC?

AAC stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication. This means all the ways people communicate without talking. AAC is ways people who can't speak all the time or can't speak at all can communicate.

What are peer supports?

AAC Peer Support Consortium Presentation Bob Williams - August 28, 2024
AAC Peer Support Consortium presentation Patrick Regan - August 28, 2024
AAC Peer Support Consortium presentation Lateef McLeod - July 24, 2024

AAC peer support is a gathering of people in a safe place to speak their mind, who help and learn from each other. It consists of sharing positive and negative experiences, ideas, activities, and frustrations in order to manage difficulties in life, and find validation of all feelings and in all ways to communicate. AAC peer support can build trust, friendship, a sense of belonging, pride, and forming of a shared identity.

USSAAC Blog: AAC Peer Support Models

Current status and how to get involved

Work on this project spans from March, 2024 through March, 2025. 

If you would like to receive more information about the AAC Peer Support Project, sign up here.

Give feedback about this webpage

Core values of peer support

The core values of peer support are the foundation of this project. Peer support:

  • can be offered, received, and is reciprocal 
  • is about being seen, heard, and valued 
  • can be one-time, episodic, or ongoing 
  • can be brief or comprehensive, depending on the availability and expectations of the persons needing the support and the skills and responsibilities of the persons offering support 
  • disrupts oppression 
  • recognizes and sustains community as comprised of acts of belonging and sharing, not mere coordinates on a map 
  • spurs pride and a sense of resilience in ourselves, our community, spelling it out, and taking action 
  • can include membership to many different and diverse peer groups for each person
Peer support tree graphic
This graphic shows peer support components modeled in the shape of a tree. The trunk is AAC peer support. The roots are the core values of peer support. The branches are the different peer support models, approaches, activities, and projects. The leaves are the different experiences that happen in peer support. The seeds (or fruit) are the outcomes of peer support, which are planted and spread more peer support. The forest with many other trees is like our communities, which include all different kinds of support. The environment around the tree is like our society.

Who is involved?

The Steering Committee

The roles of the Steering Committee are:  

  • To ensure that AAC users are integrally involved in the work this project is doing 
  • To review the products and deliverables from each workgroup and the national plan

Members:

A professionally dressed person with short blonde hair, light skin, glasses, and a big smile.
Tracy Rackensperger
A parson with dark tan skin and dark short hair wearing a black quarter-zip sweater and sitting in a power wheelchair.
Lateef McLeod
Jordyn Zimmerman AAC Peer Support headshot
Jordyn Zimmerman

The AAC Peer Support Consortium 

We are a national group of AAC users, researchers and providers, and representatives from disability and self-advocacy organizations located across the U.S. 

Organizations represented in the AAC Peer Support Consortium

Quotes from Consortium members

"I look forward to this meeting every week. I learn from my peers, especially those who use AAC. I never lose my excitement for the project when we are together. I hope we can keep this group going after the grant ends."

"I love how we all work together! I want our group to go on after the grant wraps up. We're just starting our work, and there is more to do."

"It feels like we have gotten a lot done, and also this is just the beginning of a movement across the U.S. and probably further to open doors for AAC users to get more than language supports."

"So proud to attend a meeting that was about the experiences and opinions of AAC users rather than talkies. Moved the power where it should be for the final product."

"So happy to move this agenda forward, taking back our power, we are fully AAC-tivated!"

"I always feel empowered to make big changes in society after I meet with this dynamic group!!"