Mentoring

We provide a trained, volunteer mentor who works with a person with Asperger Syndrome over a long period of time - this can be up to a year or maybe longer.

The service-user (mentee) has meetings with the mentor, usually once each week, for about an hour. This can be at our office, but can be in a cafe or anywhere else that you feel comfortable to meet and talk.

A mentor is a mixture of a friend, a guide and sometimes a teacher - someone who supports the mentee to identify what they would like to change or achieve in their life and works with them in finding out how to make it happen for themselves.

The types of goals that a mentor may work with on with the mentee can range from learning to cook, dealing with stress and anxiety or travelling comfortably on public transport to finding a job, managing money or spending less time playing computer games - the choice is endless.

Group Activities

We also run a range of social and discussion groups and activities for adults with Asperger Syndrome to broaden social contacts and encourage participation. The social group decides what to do and where to go for their meetings.

Previous events have included:

• Meals out - pizza, Chinese, Indian
• Social meetings in cafes
• Bowling
• Visiting the Fair on Brighton Pier

Mentoring and group membership is provided free of charge (social activities need to be paid for), but currently only accessible to those living in or near Brighton and Hove, Sussex, UK.

Individuals do not require a clinical diagnosis of Asperger Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Condition to access ASpire's services, but must accept that they are affected by this type of condition and be ready to work with a mentor.

If you live in this area and would like to find out more, please contact us at ASpire - click here

Mentor Training

Aspire Mentor Training is a package that the project has developed through recruiting, training and supporting volunteer mentors to work with adults with Asperger Syndrome. We deliver this Mentor Training to organisations wishing to train staff to provide mentor support to colleagues or service users.