Since 2013, we have been collaborating 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). Autistic students are matched with a senior undergraduate or graduate student who is familiar with the SFU campus and has been successful at navigating the demands of university life. Through weekly meetings, the mentee-mentor pairs discuss the mentee’s unique goals, which may include strategies for adapting to university, networking and making friends, study skills, time management, communicating with professors and TAs, and making use of SFU resources and opportunities (advising, co-op, etc.). Researchers in our lab, in and in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Lab, collect both quantitative and qualitative data on from participants in the program. We are consistently striving to improve AMI and find new ways to ensure the experience of both mentors and mentees is a positive one. We have a new intake every year, so please consider participating in this program, either as a mentor or mentee.
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.
