Cultivating Leadership: Mentoring Youth with Disabilities A mentor is a person who through support, counsel, friendship, reinforcement and constructive example helps another person, usually a young person, to reach his or her work and life goals. Mentoring relationships provide valuable support to young people, especially those with disabilities, by offering not only academic and career guidance, but also effective role models for leadership, interpersonal and problem-solving skills. Mentoring relationships may take different forms:
The Benefits of Mentoring Regardless of the format, all mentoring relationships share a common goal of helping young people. However, young people are not the only ones who benefit from mentoring. In recent years, increasing numbers of employers have implemented mentoring programs for one simple reason—mentoring produces positive results, both immediate and for years to come. Through mentoring, employers gain:
Research documents that mentors derive the following benefits from their experience:
Research also indicates that youth benefit from mentoring. Mentoring is associated with:
Characteristics of Successful Mentoring Relationships Because mentoring relationships are between individuals, each is unique; however, all effective mentoring relationships have certain things in common. For example, the longer the relationship continues, the more positive the outcome. In addition, youth are more likely to benefit from mentoring if their mentor maintains frequent contact with them and knows their families. As a general rule, youth who are disadvantaged, or at-risk, stand to gain the most from mentoring. Youth who perceive high-quality relationships with their mentors experience the best results. Program practices that promote quality relationships include:
Research indicates that mentoring is especially effective in helping youth with disabilities transition into the workplace and adulthood. The U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) has funded pilot projects to expand the capacity of community and faith-based organizations to promote mentoring programs for youth with disabilities through intermediary organizations. In addition, ODEP, in partnership with the American Association of People with Disabilities (AAPD), sponsors Disability Mentoring Day. This annual event promotes career development for students and job-seekers with disabilities through job shadowing and hands-on career exploration . B oth public and private employers provide one-on-one mentoring for students to learn about the preparation necessary to qualify for a range of jobs opportunities. Disability Mentoring Day is held annually each October, but the program can be implemented by employers at any time throughout the year. For more information regarding ways in which employers can participate, visit the Disability Mentoring Day Web site. Other sources of information about mentoring include:
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