Students mentor peers with Asperger’s syndrome

The Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center has a new peer mentor program for University students with Asperger's Syndrome.

"One of the biggest challenges students with Asperger's face while at the University is becoming connected with its social fabric," said David Fischer, coordinator of the Asperger's Disorder College Program as well as the peer mentor program.

The goal of the program is to make students with a peer mentor feel as if they are integrated into the community at the University as well as any student, Fischer said.

"The ability to make a connection with somebody else close to them in age can help them adjust socially," he said.

The program was developed to provide additional support to students with Asperger's syndrome through the Douglass Outreach College Program, said Rita Gordon, director of Outreach Services at the DDDC.