Post 1: Introduction

Welcome

Welcome to the first blog post for Autism Spectrum (AS) mentors at the University of Cumbria.

AS mentoring is new for the 2017/18 academic year and if you are reading this then you are part of the pilot scheme!  Don't worry, there will be training and support along the way, and we hope that you will find this an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Introductions

Let me introduce myself.  My name is Lesley English and I will be managing this branch of peer mentoring at the University.  I'm a library and academic adviser and you will find me in the library at the Lancaster campus.  Here's a picture of me!

So, you may wonder what experience I have in supporting students with autism?  Well, I'm studying for a postgraduate qualification here at the University titled 'Working with individuals on the autism spectrum' and I'm mum to a 17 year old son who is autistic.  I like to think that I'm an advocate for autism both in my work and my personal life.

In the comments section below, you may want to introduce yourself and why you have chosen to volunteer for the scheme.

Why use a blog?

In September I will be running a day's training for AS mentors which will give you some guidance on how to work with and support your mentees.  I thought you may find it useful to get regular blog posts over the summer to get you thinking about autism: what it is (and isn't), terminology, the difficulties that students with autism may face (and their strengths).  This will be great preparation for when we get together in September.  Please feel free to comment on the blog posts (in fact I'd love it if you did!), & share resources and we can start to get to know with other a little before we meet up.

Getting started

Here is a great little video by the National Autistic Society (NAS) called What is autism? (the NAS have lots and lots of great resources and signposts to support - click here to find out more).


Useful resources

Another good starting point is the NAS leaflet What is autism? which is available as a PFD file.

The University library has a number of books and ebooks on autism and Asperger syndrome.  I recommend having a look at the title below, which is available both in print and as an ebook.

Baron-Cohen, S. (2008) Autism and Asperger syndrome: The facts.  Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Throughout the summer I will share other useful resources with you.


Contact

If you have any queries or concerns over the Summer you can contact me directly at lesley.english@cumbria.ac.uk 

For general queries relating to the peer mentoring scheme contact peermentoring@cumbria.ac.uk 

I look forward to meeting you all in September.