"Everyone Has a Different Body Constitution": An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Social Interaction and Related Supports in Chinese Autistic Postsecondary Students.

Only eight students took part, all in Hong Kong, and they volunteered themselves; the authors say the findings may not transfer to other autistic students, and that volunteers may be more outspoken and reflective about their social lives than others. The study reports what students said about their experiences and the support they had received. No intervention was tested and no outcomes were measured, so nothing here shows that any particular support works. The researchers are not autistic, and although one former autistic student piloted the interview and participants were shown the themes, no autistic co-researchers were involved in the analysis or the writing. Interviews were in Cantonese and translated into English for the write-up, and the analysis was led by one researcher, so what reached the page has passed through a single nonautistic interpretation. Participants were aged 18 to 23 or above and were mostly in their second year, and two had depression, two anxiety, two ADHD and one an eating disorder; some students with different experiences, including those diagnosed later in life, may expect different things from social support.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and stated that they received no financial support for the research, authorship or publication of the article.

Do not read this as proof that social skills training is harmful or that autistic peer support works. Eight students who volunteered described their own experiences; no intervention was tested and no outcomes were measured. The paper is a set of themes about what these students found helpful, not evidence about what changes outcomes.