“I need friends for my autism... but I don't know why": An exploration of autistic children's friendship experiences

Autistic children can experience challenges in making and maintaining friendships, and middle childhood (ages 6-12) may be a particularly challenging time for children, as social networks become more complex. However, a large proportion of research into these experiences is based on adult reports, observations, or focuses on the experiences of adolescents and adults, meaning that the voices of younger children are absent from the literature. This doctoral project aims to fill this gap by directly investigating the experiences of autistic children in the United Kingdom. The project involves three studies which explore friendship experiences from multiple perspectives to gain a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. These studies include a systematic review exploring the experiences of autistic children across primary settings in the UK; a multiple perspectives study including autistic children in Key Stage 2 and their key adults which uses novel, creative methods and remote, parent-led interviews; and a parental perspectives study investigating the impact COVID-19 and school transitions have on children’s friendships. Results from the studies show that autistic children can and do have successful friendships, but that these friendships may differ from those of non-autistic peers. Autistic children were found to show a preference for children that had similar needs to themselves, and clear gender and age differences were identified, with girls reporting more pressure to make friends and conform to social norms. Importantly, the studies highlighted that there were key differences between the experiences of autistic children and the perceptions of key adults in their lives. This has implications for the design of support and highlights the need to speak with children about areas that concern themselves. The project also highlights the lack of research including children directly and calls for more inclusive methods to be implemented to combat this.