UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State's Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD), in collaboration with Oregon Health and Science University, Madonna Rehabilitation Hospital and InvoTek, has been awarded a grant for a Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (RERC on AAC) from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research.The grant, which provides approximately $5 million of funding over a five-year period, consists of four components: research, development, training and dissemination, said principal investigator Janice Light, who holds the Hintz Family Endowed Chair in Children’s Communicative Competence. David McNaughton, professor of special education, will lead the training and dissemination activities.“We were the only Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center funded on Rehabilitation Strategies, Techniques and Interventions,” Light said. “We are really excited about the research, development, training and dissemination activities that we have planned and the new collaborations that we will be building, both in house at Penn State with the College of Engineering and the College of Information Sciences and Technology, as well as nationwide with other leading research centers. This is an incredible opportunity to advance the field and improve outcomes for children and adults with the most complex communication needs.”The grant will focus on enhancing communication and improving outcomes for children and adults who rely on augmentative and alternative communication (e.g., signs, communication books, speech generating devices and mobile technologies), including, but not limited to, individuals with autism, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and degenerative neurological disorders such as ALS.“Our overall mission is to try to enhance communication and improve quality of life,” Light said. “We would argue communication is really the essence of all of our lives and is the key to successful participation in society.”“There are a lot of stakeholders who will benefit,” Light said. “The grant is all about those who have unique needs, and our goal is to enhance the quality of life for them.”“The grant will provide a richness of opportunities for Penn State students from various disciplines to conduct research, develop cutting-edge technologies and learn evidence-based practices in rehabilitation,” she said.
For more information about the CSD, visit http://csd.hhd.psu.edu.