‘That connection with community… it is just a positive thing’: Mentoring autistic adolescents participating in community coding programmes

In this project, we explored the views of mentors and facilitators of community coding clubs for autistic adolescents. The community clubs were run on Saturdays for 2-4 hours during school term time. A total of 10 participants (five mentors and five facilitators) agreed to meet with the research team to discuss their experiences. We found that mentors and facilitators needed support to develop their mentoring skills which helped them to grow, made them feel better and gave them a feeling of satisfaction. Our study showed the importance of understanding autism spectrum and supporting mentors and facilitators. We showed how mentoring programmes are an emerging approach that occupational therapists can engage with to better support autistic youth with their strengths and passions.