Relevance of peer mentoring for supporting neurodivergent university students

Abstract

The present work is a literature review aimed at describing the main elements of peer mentoring programs as a response to the needs of neurodivergent university students.

The method involved the use of Web of Science (WOS), Scopus and Google Scholar databases. The keywords used were neurodiversity, inclusion, university, inclusive education, peer mentoring, peer learning, autism, and their respective Spanish translations. Additionally, related literature was identified through the Research Rabbit platform. A total of 47 articles were preselected, then narrowed down to 29, of which 25 were included in the review.

A review is conducted of the Chilean legal framework on the inclusion of neurodivergent students in higher education, the inclusive education paradigm, neurodiversity and the social model of disability, as well as existing evidence on peer mentoring.

It is concluded that peer mentoring is a relevant strategy for supporting the inclusion of neurodivergent students in universities. Furthermore, it is required to systematize these experiences and assess the quality of these supports in order to contribute in the development of scientific grounded in the realities of Chilean and Latin American university communities.