Beyond Friendship: The Spectrum of Social Participation of Autistic Adults.
Dara V Chan, Julie D Doran, Osly D Galobardi
PMID 35079929WHAT IT FOUND
Forty autistic adults described finding belonging through work, neighborhoods, interest groups, support services, and online platforms.
Casual encounters and acquaintances mattered as much as close friendships. Clinicians should ask about these varied contexts rather than focusing only on friendship quality.
Key findings
01Participants identified five main contexts for social participation: vocational settings, neighborhoods, common interest groups, support services, and online networks.
02Social participation ranged from casual encounters to close friendships, with participants reporting that all levels contributed to a sense of belonging.
03Online platforms were used not just for virtual contact but to facilitate in-person gatherings through apps like Meetup and dating sites.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (n=40) and drawn from a limited geographic region in the southeastern United States. Participants had an IQ of 70 or above, so findings do not represent the entire autism spectrum. Most data were collected before the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially missing recent shifts in social participation. The study did not measure the quality of friendships or specific mental health diagnoses, relying instead on self-reported feelings of belonging.
Declared interests
Funded by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences. No other conflicts declared.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that casual encounters or online interactions are inferior to close friendships. The study found that autistic adults derived a sense of belonging from a wide range of social contacts, including neighbors and online communities, which are often overlooked in traditional assessments of social health.