Social Support in Postsecondary Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder

A core diagnostic feature of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is social impairments. Although the number of students with ASD pursuing postsecondary education is growing, few institutions provide programs to help students cope with social aspects of postsecondary education. Here, we describe social support experiences of students with ASD participating in a peer mentorship program. A subset of the students (n = 23) enrolled in their first year of the Autism Mentorship Program (AMP) completed questionnaires assessing their perceived social support during their first year in the program. Development of social skills emerged as a popular goal among students and was a major topic of discussion within one-on-one meetings. Overall, students reported high satisfaction with the program and reported that the AMP helped them achieve their goals. However, students did not report increases in social support or quality of friendships assessed using standardized measures. Our results exemplify some of the challenges of improving social skills through a community-based program.