Disability Mentors
The Disability Team offers to match a mentor to all new students at GCU, who have disclosed a diagnosis of autism/asperger syndrome.
All of our mentors are trained in autism, and in effective strategies for supporting students with an autism spectrum condition
What do Disability mentors help with?
Mentors deliver an individually tailored blend of support with both study skills and social skills. For example:
- effective strategies for time management
- organisation
- overcoming procrastination
- orientation and settling into university life
- accessing extra-curricular opportunities
- self-advocacy
- building confidence and independence
Students usually meet with their mentor once a week. Disability Mentors are not mental health professionals/counsellors.
Whilst some students may require the support of a mentor only in the early stages of their course, most find it helpful to continue to meet a mentor throughout their degree.
What other students have said about having a mentor:
“I can do the academic work without any problem. It’s all the other stuff that you have to deal with at university that I don’t deal with so well. And that’s what my mentor helps me with.”
“Having a mentor really helped my confidence... Just someone to talk to on a regular basis... My mentor helped me organise and plan for the week ahead, and I can’t imagine how I would have got through Uni without that help.”