Medical Students Mentored by Boggs Center Faculty Develop Mentorship Program for Youth with I/DD

Thursday, August 22, 2024

As part of a Distinction in Service to the Community (DISC) project, four Robert Wood Johnson Medical School students developed a mentorship program to prepare youth with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) between the ages of 13 and 21 for transition to adult life. Cristina Fernandez, Srivarsha Kaloth, Dawn Arumemi, and Patrick Lin, implemented their Adult Life Learning for Youth (ALLY) program at the Piscataway Regional Day School with supervision from faculty advisor Carrie Coffield, PhD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Robert Wood Johnson Medication School and Director of Pre-service Training and NJLEND Training Director at The Boggs Center. Interactive workshops led by the ALLY team helped youth learn to foster peer-to-peer relationships, build self-advocacy skills, and feel more comfortable in healthcare settings. At the same time, medical students gained insight into the needs of and comfort working with youth and young adults with I/DD. Now working to establish the program’s sustainability, the students presented on the ALLY program at the 22nd Annual American Academy of Developmental Medicine & Dentistry (AADMD) Conference on June 8, 2024 in Chicago.