A Disability Studies and Critical Autistic Analysis of Peer Mentoring for Autistic Postsecondary Students

Peer mentoring is a common support service for autistic students in postsecondary education. This study explores the current landscape of peer mentoring programs at colleges and universities in the United States and proposes a novel mentoring model, constellation mentoring, to support this population. Constellation mentoring is informed by mentoring literature, critical disability praxis, and lived experiences of autistic community members to address limitations in existing mentoring programs for autistic students. This dissertation presents a survey study of program staff in thirty peer mentoring programs for autistic students and a focus group study with four autistic young adults who participated in constellation mentoring in the Chicago area. The dissertation also provides a guide for implementing constellation mentoring as a collaborative group process. The goal of constellation mentoring is to empower autistic people as agents of change in their own lives and their communities. Implications of this research may enhance autistic-centered mentoring for autistic students in postsecondary education and beyond, and thus, may interest educators, administrators, disability service professionals, college autism professionals, autistic self-advocates, community members, and others.