Abstract
Objectives
Autistic individuals frequently experience mental health concerns, and there are few strengths-based programs available within community settings. This study examined the initial outcomes of the Autism Mentorship Program (AMP), a mentoring program for autistic youth and adults.
Methods
Fourteen autistic youth and 14 autistic adults were paired in one-to-one mentoring relationships, and they met weekly for mentoring sessions. Seventeen parents of autistic youth also participated in this study. A mixed methods design was used to assess social and emotional outcomes and acceptability of AMP. Data were collected via online surveys and standardized rating scales before AMP, following eight weeks of programming, and following AMP. Data were analyzed using descriptive methods and Hedge’s g.
Results
Results indicated strong uptake and satisfaction with the program and mentoring relationships. Mentee outcomes included increased pride in their autistic identities (g = .28) and improvements in self-awareness, social connectedness, and communication skills. Parents of mentees reported increases in quality of life (g = .49), life satisfaction (g = .60), and pride in autistic identity (g = .80) for their child. Mentors reported improvements in quality of life (g = .58), internalizing (g = − .12) and externalizing symptoms (g = -.06), leadership, communication skills, social connectedness, and social skills (g = .19).
Conclusions
Initial results indicate that AMP has the potential to benefit autistic mentors and mentees. Additional research is needed regarding mentoring for autistic individuals.
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Data Availability
The data that support the findings of this study are not publicly available, but may be made available from the authors upon reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We thank each of our participants and valued community partners who made this study possible. We would also like to thank Breanna Rivera-Kloeppel for her assistance in formatting our references and Dr. Chimei Lee for her consultation on statistical analyses.
Funding
This research was generously supported by the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Translational Research in Children’s Mental Health; UMN College of Education and Human Development and the Department of Pediatrics; the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project MIN-52–109; and the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, grant UL1TR002494. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.
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Rebekah Hudock: conceptualization, project administration, funding acquisition, formal analysis, methodology, investigation, resources, supervision, project administration, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing; Kalli Kremer: investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing, visualization; Naomi Kaplan: investigation, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing; Emily Goldberg: conceptualization, writing—review and editing; Jeanette Dempsey Austin: conceptualization, writing—review and editing; Lila Khan: investigation, writing—review and editing; Lindsey Weiler: conceptualization, project administration, funding acquisition, formal analysis, data curation, methodology, investigation, resources, supervision, writing—original draft, writing—review and editing.
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This study was conducted at The University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN between October 2020 and June 2021. All procedures performed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. The study was approved by the Institutional Review Boards and their respective Human Research Ethics committee at the University of Minnesota. Informed consent was obtained from all participants and/or legal guardians included in this study. Assent was obtained from all minor participants.
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Hudock, R.L., Kremer, K.B., Kaplan, N. et al. Development and Initial Outcomes of a Mentoring Program Designed to Support Autistic Adolescents and Adults. Adv Neurodev Disord (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00388-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41252-023-00388-5