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Western New England University Peer Mentoring Program: Creating a Community for Learning

Western New England University Peer Mentoring Program: Creating a Community for Learning. Bonni Alpert , Assistant Dean, Student Disability Services. History. Prior to 2007: Had a handful of students with spectrum diagnoses Offered Academic support More was needed. College challenges :.

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Western New England University Peer Mentoring Program: Creating a Community for Learning

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  1. Western New England University Peer Mentoring Program: Creating a Community for Learning Bonni Alpert, Assistant Dean, Student Disability Services

  2. History Prior to 2007: • Had a handful of students with spectrum diagnoses • Offered Academic support • More was needed

  3. College challenges: • Retention • Social isolation • Stress • Depression • Academic difficulties • Employment challenges

  4. How to serve these students? Welkowitz, L. A., & Baker, L. J. (2005). Supporting College Students with Aspergers Syndrome. In Asperger's syndrome: intervening in schools,clinics, and communities (pp. 1-25). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  5. 2007: Our Mission • Academic Accommodations • Peer Mentoring • Campus Education

  6. Spring 2007 Pilot Program • Hybrid internship/ independent study • Coordinated effort between SDS and Psychology Dept. • 3 mentors, 2 mentees, 2 supervisors • A one semester commitment

  7. Objectives of the Program • To provide social support and friendship in “real-life” contexts • To provide a direct, hands-on approach • To provide brief, but regular contacts with peer mentors in order to reduce stress, develop interpersonal and problem solving skills and promote a sense of accountability • To raise the awareness of the college community

  8. Outcome • Clinical notes and assessments indicated modest social skills improvement in the mentees • Positive feedback from mentors • Newsletter distributed to WNE community with great feedback

  9. One Semester Was Not Enough……

  10. Our Current Model • Coordinated effort with Applied Behavioral Analysis Doctoral Program • Commitment of two academic semesters for mentors and mentees • Mentors receive internship credit and valuable experience • Mentees form peer connections and work on targeted skills

  11. Expectations for Mentors • Weekly Supervision • Clinical Logs • Reading/Annotated Bibliographies • Clinical Assessments and Reports • Culminating Project to Educate Campus Community/Protocols • Meeting with mentor/mentee/grad fellow

  12. Clinical Log Description of Contact (be objective, be respectful and careful in your choice of words): • Overview of interaction (location and time of meeting, topic(s) covered): • Description of mentee behavior (include specific verbal and non-verbal behaviors (i.e., specific language used, punctuality, facial expressions, eye contact, body posture, tone/quality of voice, etc.): Comments • General thoughts/impressions: • Specific interpretations and thoughts regarding mentee behavior(s): • What worked well with respect to engaging your mentee, motivating him/her to work on specific goals and developing a realistic plan of action (be specific)? • What could you have done differently?

  13. Clinical Log Goals (please include any specific goals for the following meeting): • What goals have been identified by you and your mentee (include data from assessments and previous meetings)? • Which goal(s) seems most pertinent for the upcoming meeting? Explain: Follow Up(include your plans for subsequent meetings with mentee): • Where and when will your next meeting take place: • What topic(s)/issue(s)/goal(s) do you plan to address: • Describe, in as much detail as possible, your plan for addressing the topic(s)/issue(s)/goal(s) above:

  14. ABA and the Peer Mentoring program • 1) preparing mentors and mentees to identify and describe measurable, objective goals related to academic and social success, • 2) developing individualized assessment and skill-building programs to implement with mentees (examples include initiating conversations, decreasing interruptions during conversation, and professional interviewing skills).

  15. Protocols • Protocol for Question Asking • Components: Instructions, Modeling, Rehearsal, Feedback • Example: Target= Question Asking • Instructions: “I have a list of topics we are going to discuss today. I want you to ask me questions about my topics throughout our conversation. If you do not ask me questions at appropriate times, I will pause our conversation and provide an example of a question you might ask. You will then practice asking me the question. I will tell you how you are doing throughout the conversation and after the conversation.” • Modeling: Statement- “I went to lunch with my roommate on Friday and we both had Pho.” • Possibly Questions: “What is Pho? Oh, do you know of a good Vietnamese restaurant in town?” • Rehearsal: You try it • Feedback: That’s a really great question. Pho is… OR I’m so glad you asked! There’s a great Vietnamese restaurant down Dickinson Street. It’s called ‘Vinh Chau.’”

  16. This Program is Unique • Informal Peer support/Scientific approach • Structured practice  Generalized skills

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