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Mentoring University Students with ASD: A Mentee-centered Approach

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Abstract

This study presents a conceptual understanding of how mentorship is experienced by the participants of a mentorship program for university students with Autism Spectrum Disorder. We interviewed the participants of the Autism Mentorship Initiative at Simon Fraser University. A grounded theory approach was used to systematically organize data from interviews and documents to reveal themes that were salient to the mentees (students with autism; n = 9) and mentors (neurotypical students; n = 9). The following five main themes were identified and interrelated under the core theme of A Mentee-centered Approach: (1) The Natural Progression of the Relationship, (2) The Supportive Mentor, (3) The Meeting Process, (4) Identifying and Implementing Goals, and (5) Learning Together. An in-depth analysis of a mentorship process is described.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the participants for volunteering their time to be interviewed for this research, and to Dr. Grace Iarocci, Dr. Mitchell Stoddard, and Suzanne Leach for their help with the research.

Author Contributions

The primary author is NR. The secondary author is EB. Both authors certify that they have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content, including participation in the concept, design, analysis, writing, and revision of the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC, V5A1S6, Canada

    Nicole Roberts & Elina Birmingham

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  1. Nicole Roberts
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  2. Elina Birmingham
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Correspondence to Nicole Roberts.

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Conflict of interest

Dr. Elina Birmingham has received a research grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, which has partially funded this research. Nicole Roberts declares that she has no conflict of interest.

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Roberts, N., Birmingham, E. Mentoring University Students with ASD: A Mentee-centered Approach. J Autism Dev Disord 47, 1038–1050 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-016-2997-9

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