Beyond Friendship: The Spectrum of Social Participation of Autistic Adults

Abstract

Difficulties with social interactions and communication that characterize autism persist in adulthood. While social participation in adulthood is often marked by social isolation and limited close friendships, this qualitative study describes the range of social participation activities and community contacts, from acquaintances to close relationships, that contributed to connection from the perspective of 40 autistic adults. Qualitative data from interviews around social and community involvement were analyzed and revealed five main contexts where social participation occurred: vocational contexts, neighborhoods, common interest groups, support services and inclusive environments, and online networks and apps. Implications for practice to support a range of social participation include engaging in newer social networking avenues, as well as traditional paths through employment and support services.

Social skills training with a tabletop role-playing game, before and during the pandemic of 2020: in-person and online group sessions

“…There is some evidence that a growing number of individuals within the ASD community are actually quite comfortable with online interaction (45). In the present study, conducting group sessions on the Discord platform brought numerous qualitative results observed by the experimenters, especially with regard to the generalization of social skills.…”

“It’s the only thing I can trust”: Envisioning Large Language Model Use by Autistic Workers for Communication Assistance

“…Research has highlighted the significance of autistic individuals having a champion or advocate in their corner to assist with workplace communication challenges [61], but they also might turn to family, friends, and peers for daily living activities and advice, or find other forms of social support networks online that help meet everyday socioemotional needs [16,25]. However, these personal resources do not always possess the aptitude to provide guidance for workplace dilemmas.…”

Development of Social Competence through Play Activities: Lost in the Digital Age

“…In line with that expressed by Asher and Parker, social competence is an integral component of closer relationships, such as friendship. When a person starts a relationship, his social skills will facilitate the development of that relationship into a close relationship or friendship (Chan et al, 2022).…”