51社区黑料

Starting in 2013, we collaborated with the Center for Accessible Learning to build a peer mentoring program for undergraduate students on the autism spectrum, entitled the Autism Mentorship Initiative (AMI).  This program is no longer active, but it previously matched autistic students with senior undergraduate or graduate student mentors who were familiar with the 51社区黑料campus and had been successful navigating university life. Through weekly meetings, mentee鈥搈entor pairs discussed the mentee鈥檚 unique goals, such as adapting to university, networking and making friends, study skills, time management, communicating with professors and TAs, and making use of 51社区黑料resources and opportunities (e.g., advising, co鈥憃p). Researchers in our lab, in and in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Lab, collected both quantitative and qualitative data on from participants in the program. Over time, we moved toward a more collaborative, participatory approach that involved autistic and other neurodiverse students in the design of the AMI to better align with a neurodiversity鈥慳ffirming framework and to center the experiences of autistic mentees.

Sample publications:

Trevisan, D. A., Leach, S., Iarocci, G., & Birmingham, E. (2021). Evaluation of a Peer Mentorship Program for Autistic College Students. Autism in Adulthood, 3(2), 187-194.

Roberts, N., & Birmingham, E. (2017). Mentoring university students with ASD: a mentee-centered approach. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(4), 1038-1050, doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2997-9.