REAL-HE - Naming, Framing and Flaming HE mentoring: Speaker Dr Brian Irvine

Brian works at UCL at CRAE, the Centre for Research in Autism and Education. There, he runs CRAE’s Comms and Engagement. Not long ago he completed his doctoral thesis at ACER, the University of Birmingham’s Autism Centre for Education and Research where he investigated Specialist (Autism) Mentoring in UK Higher Education. Before this, he was himself a specialist autism mentor where – for a decade - he had had the pleasure of regular meetings with many brilliant students as they journeyed through their university life. Even further back in time, he taught in an autism primary school inclusion provision, was a childminder/pirate, and – last century – was Head of Philosophy and Religious Education at a secondary modern school. For fun he plays the ukulele, as it causes others to back away slowly. This session With the ever-increasing number of autistic students entering Higher Education, the role of mentoring is more crucial than ever. In the UK, Specialist Mentoring (Autism or ADHD) is a funded reasonable accommodation with impact extending far beyond simple support. Mentoring does not just help students navigate studenthood; it enables them to reframe their experience, critique institutional barriers, and share workarounds for flourishing. Brian talks about how mentoring can become a tool for advocacy and institutional change. He shares his study which started with autistic hypothesisers, sparking mentor diaries, which were analysed with an autistic majority group of master mentors. From this a Framework for Reframing was constructed. Mentors need to refine their understanding of autism and know how to grapple with university systems. They need to be able to reflect on their role as mentors, and they need to enact the craft of mentoring. In the UK, this craft seems to follow a model of social mobilisation in: diagnostic framing (naming and understanding and critiquing the university context), prognostic framing (framing and developing strategies and workarounds), and motivational framing (sharing joy and keeping the flame of persistence lit) - Naming, Framing and Flaming. In positioning mentoring as more than just support, but as a transformative practice, Brian invites you to consider how mentoring can not only improve autistic students' experiences but also reshape institutional culture itself. Aims: Hopefully, and with a little luck, you will have had some time to consider what mentoring is, and how it may fit around teaching and coaching. have considered the transformative role mentoring has in supporting neurodivergent students, not just in terms of course completion but also in fostering advocacy, agency, and institutional change. have a model of mentoring that might be of some use in many other contexts.