Help Power the Autism Mentorship Program!
Donation protected
Help us build the Autism Mentorship Program to greater heights!
The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP), a unique concept pairing autistic teens with autistic adults in 1-to-1 mentorships, provides critical mental health and social emotional development support by offering opportunities for participants to build meaningful connections with one another.
AMP was designed by autistic adults to bring enrichment and hope to autistic youth. Piloted in 2018, AMP is in its third year of operation serving students at Bloomington Public Schools’ Kennedy High School once a week during the school year.
Currently taking place online rather than in person due to COVID-19, AMP is especially critical right now because the pandemic has dangerously elevated the isolation and concomitant mental health issues already facing the autistic population.
Research by our University of Minnesota partners affirms that AMP seems to positively impact its teen participants (as well as their mentors). AMP helps mentees be more social, communicative and self-confident; less uncomfortable about being autistic; and better able to trust and cooperate with others. One mentee stated, “This program shows that we can be confident in the fact of being autistic and be successful in life.”
Harnessing the strengths of autistic individuals, this first-of-its-kind program plays a key role in encouraging the evolution of our society from acceptance to celebration of the unique perspectives and strengths of neurodiverse people everywhere.
Our goals are to grow AMP over time so that it can serve more of Minnesota’s autistic population; we aim to reach young people in grades K-12+, across cultures and across the autism spectrum.
AMP depends on grants and donations to keep us going and growing. Thank you for your contribution!
The Autism Mentorship Program (AMP), a unique concept pairing autistic teens with autistic adults in 1-to-1 mentorships, provides critical mental health and social emotional development support by offering opportunities for participants to build meaningful connections with one another.
AMP was designed by autistic adults to bring enrichment and hope to autistic youth. Piloted in 2018, AMP is in its third year of operation serving students at Bloomington Public Schools’ Kennedy High School once a week during the school year.
Currently taking place online rather than in person due to COVID-19, AMP is especially critical right now because the pandemic has dangerously elevated the isolation and concomitant mental health issues already facing the autistic population.
Research by our University of Minnesota partners affirms that AMP seems to positively impact its teen participants (as well as their mentors). AMP helps mentees be more social, communicative and self-confident; less uncomfortable about being autistic; and better able to trust and cooperate with others. One mentee stated, “This program shows that we can be confident in the fact of being autistic and be successful in life.”
Harnessing the strengths of autistic individuals, this first-of-its-kind program plays a key role in encouraging the evolution of our society from acceptance to celebration of the unique perspectives and strengths of neurodiverse people everywhere.
Our goals are to grow AMP over time so that it can serve more of Minnesota’s autistic population; we aim to reach young people in grades K-12+, across cultures and across the autism spectrum.
AMP depends on grants and donations to keep us going and growing. Thank you for your contribution!
Organizer
Emily Goldberg
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN