Middle School Mayhem

Hello again. I am beginning to think a lot about the pitfalls of adolescence and how they complicate things for students with Asperger's and vice versa, how Asperger's complicates adolescence. Recently I have had the pleasure of knowing a group of 7th grade students who have taken it on themselves to create a safety net around on of our multiply handicapped students. It's gotten me to thinking...what about a social safety net around our AS kids? I know it's done at the college level (see L Welkowitz), but what's been done younger? Nancy Mizelle at Mentalhelp.net has some interesting ideas about transitioning kids to high school and the successful things that can take place in middle school to assure positive outcomes. The Modelmekids Program offers teaching tools for social skills development throughout middle school and high school, as well. Kelly May at New Horizons has written an informative article about teaching strategies and AS kids, but none of these has offered me exactly what I'm looking for: a way to recruit, train, supervise and support neurotypical peers in an attempt to immerse AS students in their real social surroundings. I'll keep looking and would appreciate anybody else's thoughts.