Autistic peer-to-peer information transfer is highly effective.
Catherine J Crompton, Danielle Ropar, Claire Vm Evans-Williams and 2 others
PMID 32431157WHAT IT FOUND
Autistic people shared information and built rapport just as effectively as non-autistic people when paired with same-neurotype peers.
However, mixed groups struggled significantly with both information transfer and rapport, suggesting communication breakdowns arise from diagnostic mismatch rather than inherent social deficits.
Key findings
01Information transfer fidelity was significantly lower in mixed autistic/non-autistic chains compared to all-autistic or all-non-autistic chains.
02There was no significant difference in information recall between all-autistic and all-non-autistic chains.
03Self-rated interactional rapport was significantly lower in mixed chains compared to non-autistic chains.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Sample size was relatively modest (72 participants), though powered for medium effects. Participants knew the diagnostic status of their partners, which could have influenced behaviour. The sample consisted of adults with IQs in the typical range who were verbally fluent; results may not apply to those with intellectual disability. Gender distribution was uneven across chains, which may have affected rapport results. The mixed chains always started with a non-autistic participant, so the effect of starting with an autistic participant is unknown.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest. The study was supported by a grant from the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the poorer performance of mixed chains as evidence that autistic people have inherent social communication deficits. The study found that autistic people performed just as well as non-autistic people when interacting with other autistic people, suggesting the difficulty arises specifically from the mismatch between neurotypes.