The Speech-Generating Device (SGD) Mentoring Program: Training Adults who use an SGD to Mentor

Abstract

Mentoring in speech-generating device (SGD) use by adults who use SGDs offers the potential to improve new device learners’ linguistic competence. This paper forms part of a larger study of mentoring among people who use SGDs. This paper investigates the effects of training adults who use SGDs in interaction strategies to enable them to fulfil a mentoring role. Mentors were taught to use open-ended questions, expansions, and recast sentences. Three mentors, aged 23-, 31-, and 54-years-old; and three mentees, aged 13-, 14-, and 32-years-old, participated in this study. A nonconcurrent multiple-baseline-across-participants design was used to assess the outcomes. Following the interaction strategies training, an increase in the number of strategies used in mentoring sessions occurred across all three mentors. These results provide preliminary evidence of SGD mentor training success. The SGD mentors learned the strategies and used them in mentoring sessions.

Keywords::

• Augmentative and alternative communication (AAC)
• Speech-generating device (SGD)
• Mentor
• Mentoring
• Learning

Declaration of interest: The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Appendix A

Training to Criteria Role-Plays

Open-Ended Questions

Situation 1: You are talking to your mentee about the weekend. Provide an example of an open-ended question.

Situation 2: Your mentee has a pet. You want to know more about this pet. Provide an example of an open-ended question.

Expansions

Situation 1: You are talking about what you did on the weekend. You have just asked the mentee what he did.

Mentee: I go park.

Mentor: X

Situation 2: You are talking to your mentee about TV shows.

Mentor: Do you like “The Simpsons?”

Mentee: Like.

Mentor: X

Recast Sentences

Situation 1: You are talking about movies that you have seen.

Mentor: What about “Holiday?”

Mentee: Seen.

Mentor: X

Situation 2: You are talking about pets. Your mentee says he has a dog.

Mentor: What is he like?

Mentee: Dog bark

Mentor: X