BackgroundPeer‐provided services are a common model for addressing mental health concerns. Peer providers report a range of benefits and challenges associated with their role. However, there is little information about the experiences of peer providers with intellectual/developmental disabilities.AimTo explore the experiences of young adult peer‐providers with intellectual/developmental disabilities in the context of a mental health intervention.MethodsWe conducted interviews with four young adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities and their parents and teachers to understand their experiences providing a peer mentoring mental health intervention.ResultsYoung adult peer mentors perceived themselves as responsible for maintaining the mentoring relationship, delivering the intervention and acting as helpers and independent professionals. The experiences of young adult peer mentors were driven by the temporal, institutional and social contexts of their work. Peer mentoring was an enjoyable, social activity. Mentors, parents and teachers emphasised how taking on the peer mentoring role during the transition to adulthood and within the capital‐rich university context led to a sense of pride and professional development. Further, these contexts may have led mentors to emphasise their intervention‐delivery, helper and professional roles over relationship maintenance.Discussion & conclusionContext may shape the perceived roles and benefits for young adult peer mentors with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Peer mentoring (PM) is an evidence-based approach that may support young adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and co-occurring mental health conditions (YA-IDD-MH) to cope with MH challenges. Feasibility testing of PM suggested that YA-IDD-MH learned, enjoyed PM, and had increased self-efficacy for managing emotions, but smaller changes in MH symptoms, suggesting a longer intervention period, may be needed. OTs may utilize peer-delivered interventions as a client-centered approach to support YA-IDD-MH. Primary Author and Speaker: Ariel E. Schwartz Additional Authors and Speakers: Tara Loeper Contributing Authors: Melissa Levin

Date Presented 03/28/20 The PEDI-PRO is a self-report of functional performance designed for transition-age youth with DD ages 14 through 22. We evaluated the usability of the PEDI-PRO software in clinical practice and established the reliability and accessibility of the PEDI-PRO user interface with transition-age youth with DD. Clinicians report high usability, and the accessibility features appear to support reliable reporting of daily activities, social and cognitive, and mobility function by youth with DD. Primary Author and Speaker: Jessica Kramer Additional Authors and Speakers: Tara Loeper, Ariel Schwartz, Kimberly Greenberg