Abstract
Autistic individuals experience difficulties in social communication as well as differences in social-cognitive processing. These skills are required for successful interpretation of social cues and utilisation of non-verbal communication during social interactions. In addition, restricted interests often mean that autistic children and adults are not as flexible in their leisure interests and conversation topics as their neurotypical peers. These challenges may cause autistic children and adults to experience frustration and negative consequences when they attempt to engage in interactions and form social relationships with others, particularly with those who are not autistic. This has led some autistic individuals to feel that engaging in social relationships with others is “too hard” and has perpetuated the common misperception that autistic people do not want friends. This chapter will examine the foundations of this myth as well as the research that has described the social relationships and friendships experienced by autistic individuals across different age groups. The characteristics of successful friendships and relationships will be explored, and the features of conducive environments to facilitate friendships will be identified. Finally, recommendations will be made to help create the right environments to support individuals with autism to form good relationships with both autistic and neurotypical peers in school and community settings.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders—Fifth edition. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Asperger, H. (1944). Die “Autistischen Psychopathen” im Kindesalter. Archiv für psychiatrie und nervenkrankheiten, 117(1), 76–136.
Aylott, J. (2000). Understanding children with autism: Exploding the myths. British Journal of Nursing, 9(2), 779–784. https://doi.org/10.12968/bjon.2000.9.12.6248.
Barned, N. E., Knapp, N. F., & Neuharth-Pritchett, S. (2011). Knowledge and attitudes of early childhood preservice teachers regarding the inclusion of children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 32(4), 302–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/10901027.2011.622235.
Bauminger, N., & Shulman, C. (2003). The development and maintenance of friendship in high-functioning children with autism. Autism, 7(1), 81–97. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361303007001007.
Bauminger, N., Shulman, C., & Agam, G. (2004). The link between perceptions of self and of social relationships in high-functioning children with autism. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 16(2), 193–214. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jodd.0000026616.24896.c8.
Bauminger, N., Solomon, M., Aviezer, A., Heung, K., Gazit, L., Brown, J., et al. (2008). Children with autism and their friends: A multidimensional study of friendship in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 36(2), 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-007-9156-x.
Broderick, A. A., & Ne’eman, A. (2008). Autism as metaphor: Narrative and counter-narrative. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 12(5–6), 459–476. https://doi.org/10.1080/13603110802377490.
Brownlow, C., Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H., & O’Dell, L. (2015). Exploring the potential for social networking among people with autism: Challenging dominant ideas of ‘friendship’. Scandinavian Journal of Disability Research, 17(2), 188–193. https://doi.org/10.1080/15017419.2013.859174.
Bukowski, W. M., Hoza, B., & Boivin, M. (1994). Measuring friendship quality during pre and early adolescence: The development and psychometric properties of the friendship qualities scale. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11(3), 471–484. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407594113011.
Calder, L., Hill, V., & Pellicano, E. (2013). ‘Sometimes I want to play by myself’: Understanding what friendship means to children with autism in mainstream primary schools. Autism, 17(3), 296–316. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361312467866.
Causton-Theoharis, J., Ashby, C., & Cosier, M. (2009). Islands of loneliness: Exploring social interaction through the autobiographies of individuals with autism. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 47(2), 84–96. https://doi.org/10.1352/1934-9556-47.2.84.
Chamberlain, B., Kasari, C., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2007). Involvement or isolation? The social networks of children with autism in regular classrooms. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 37(2), 230–242. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0164-4.
Chang, Y. C., Shih, W., & Kasari, C. (2016). Friendships in preschool children with autism spectrum disorder: What holds them back, child characteristics or teacher behavior? Autism, 20(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361314567761.
Cook, A., Ogden, J., & Winstone, N. (2018). Friendship motivations, challenges and the role of masking for girls with autism in contrasting school settings. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 33(3), 302–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2017.1312797.
Costley, D., Baldwin, S., & Bruck, S. (2016). Shining a light on the autism spectrum: Experiences and aspirations of adults. New York: Taylor & Francis.
Croen, L. A., Zerbo, O., Qian, Y., Massolo, M. L., Rich, S., Sidney, S., et al. (2015). The health status of adults on the autism spectrum. Autism, 19(7), 814–823. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361315577517.
Daniel, L. S., & Billingsley, B. S. (2010). What boys with an autism spectrum disorder say about establishing and maintaining friendships. Focus on Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities, 25(4), 220–229. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088357610378290.
Davidson, J. (2008). ‘In a World of her Own…’: Re-presenting alienation and emotion in the lives and writings of women with autism. Gender, Place & Culture, 14(6), 659–677. https://doi.org/10.1080/09663690701659135.
Eaves, L. C., & Ho, H. H. (2008). Young adult outcomes of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38(4), 739–747. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-007-0441-x.
Finke, E. H. (2016). Friendship: Operationalizing the intangible to improve friendship-based outcomes for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 25(4), 654–663. https://doi.org/10.1044/2016_ajslp-15-0042.
Frith, U. (2003). Autism: Explaining the enigma (2nd ed.). Malden, MA; Oxford: Blackwell.
Gottman, J. M. (1983). How children become friends. Monographs for the Society for Research in Child Development, 48(3), 1–82.
Greydanus, D. E., & Toledo-Pereyra, L. H. (2012). Historical perspectives on autism: Its past record of discovery and its present state of solipsism, skepticism, and sorrowful suspicion. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 59(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pcl.2011.10.004.
Grinker, R. R. (2010). Commentary: On being autistic, and social. Journal of the Society for Psychological Anthropology, 38(1), 172–178. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1548-1352.2009.01087.x.
Head, A. M., McGillivray, J. A., & Stokes, M. A. (2014). Gender differences in emotionality and sociability in chidlren with autism spectrum disorders. Molecular Autism, 5(19). https://doi.org/10.1186/2040-2392-5-19.
Holton, A. E. (2013). What’s wrong with Max? Parenthood and the portrayal of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Communication Inquiry, 37(1), 45–63. https://doi.org/10.1177/0196859912472507.
Holton, A. E., Farrell, L. C., & Fudge, J. L. (2014). A threatening space?: Stigmatization and the framing of autism in the news. Communication Studies, 65(2), 189–207. https://doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2013.855642.
Howard, B., Cohn, E., & Orsmond, G. I. (2006). Understanding and negotiating friendships: Perspectives from an adolescent with Asperger syndrome. Autism, 10(6), 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361306068508.
Howes, C. (1983). Patterns of friendship. Child Development, 54, 1041–1053.
Howes, C. (1996). The earliest friendships. In W. M. Bukowski, A. F. Newcomb, & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), The company they keep: Friendship in childhood and adolescence (pp. 66–86). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Howlin, P., & Magiati, I. (2017). Autism spectrum disorder: Outcomes in adulthood. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 30(2), 69–76. https://doi.org/10.1097/yco.0000000000000308.
Howlin, P., & Moss, P. (2012). Adults with autism spectrum disorders. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 57(5), 275–283. https://doi.org/10.1177/070674371205700502.
Humphrey, N., & Lewis, S. (2008). ‘Make me normal’: The views and experiences of pupils on the autistic spectrum in mainstream secondary schools. Autism, 12(1), 23–46. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361307085267.
Humphrey, N., & Symes, W. (2010). Perceptions of social support and experience of bullying among pupils with autistic spectrum disorders in mainstream secondary schools. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 25(1), 77–91. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856250903450855.
John, R., Knott, F. J., & Harvey, K. N. (2018). Myths about autism: An exploratory study using focus groups. Autism, 22(7), 845–854. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361317714990.
Kanner, L. (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child, 2(3), 217–250.
Kasari, C., Locke, J., Gulsrud, A., & Rotheram-Fuller, E. (2011). Social networks and friendships at school: Comparing children with and without ASD. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41(5), 533–544. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1076-x.
Knott, F., Dunlop, A. W., & Mackay, T. (2006). Living with ASD: How do children and their parents assess their difficulties with social interaction and understanding? Autism, 10(6), 609–617. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361306068510.
Kuo, M. H., Orsmond, G. I., Cohn, E. S., & Coster, W. J. (2011). Friendship characteristics and activity patterns of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 17(4), 481–500. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361311416380.
Ladd, G. W. (1988). Friendship patterns and peer status during early and middle childhood. Development and Behavioral Pediatrics, 9(4), 229–238. https://doi.org/10.1097/00004703-198808000-00010.
Mazurek, M. O. (2013). Social media use among adults with autism spectrum disorders. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(4), 1709–1714. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.02.004.
Mazurek, M. O. (2014). Loneliness, friendship, and well-being in adults with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 18(3), 223–232. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361312474121.
Meyer, L. H., Minondo, S., Fisher, M., Larson, M. J., Dunmore, S., Black, J. W., et al. (1998). Frames of friendship: Social relationships among adolescents with diverse abilities. In L. H. Meyer, H.-S. Park, M. Grenot-Scheyer, I. S. Schwartz, & B. Harry (Eds.), Making friends: The influences of culture and development (pp. 189–221). Baltimore: Paul H. Brookes.
Milton, D. E. M. (2012). On the ontological status of autism: The ‘double empathy problem’. Disability & Society, 27(6), 883–887. https://doi.org/10.1080/09687599.2012.710008.
Müller, E., Schuler, A., & Yates, G. B. (2008). Social challenges and supports from the perspective of individuals with Asperger syndrome and other autism spectrum disabilities. Autism, 12(2), 173–190. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361307086664.
Newcomb, A. F., & Bagwell, C. L. (1996). The developmental significance of children’s friendship relations. In W. M. Bukowski, A. F. Newcomb, & W. W. Hartup (Eds.), The company they keep: Friendship in childhood and adolescence (pp. 289–321). New York: Cambridge University Press.
O’Hagan, S., & Hebron, J. (2017). Perceptions of friendship among adolescents with autism spectrum conditions in a mainstream high school resource provision. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 32(3), 314–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2016.1223441.
Orsmond, G. I., Krauss, M. W., & Seltzer, M. M. (2004). Peer relationships and social and recreational activities among adolescents and adults with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 34(3), 245–256. https://doi.org/10.1023/b:jadd.0000029547.96610.df.
Orsmond, G. I., Shattuck, P. T., Cooper, B. P., Sterzing, P. R., & Anderson, K. A. (2013). Social participation among young adults with an autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 43(11), 2710–2719. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1833-8.
Parker, J. G., & Asher, S. R. (1993). Friendship and friendship quality in middle childhood: Links with peer group acceptance and feelings of loneliness and social dissatisfaction. Developmental Psychology, 29, 611–621. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.29.4.611.
Petrina, N., Carter, M., & Stephenson, J. (2014). The nature of friendship in children with autism spectrum disorders: A systematic review. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 8(2), 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2013.10.016.
Petrina, N., Carter, M., & Stephenson, J. (2015). Parental perception of the importance of friendship and other outcome priorities in children with autism spectrum disorder. European Journal of Special Needs Education, 30(1), 61–74. https://doi.org/10.1080/08856257.2014.943566.
Petrina, N., Carter, M., Stephenson, J., & Sweller, N. (2016). Perceived friendship quality of children with autism spectrum disorder as compared to their peers in mixed and non-mixed dyads. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1334–1343. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2673-5.
Rowley, E., Chandler, S., Baird, G., Simonoff, E., Pickles, A., Loucas, T., et al. (2012). The experience of friendship, victimization and bullying in children with an autism spectrum disorder: Associations with child characteristics and school placement. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 6(3), 1126–1134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2012.03.004.
Sarrett, J. C. (2011). Trapped children: Popular images of children with autism in the 1960s and 2000s. Journal of Medical Humanities, 32(2), 141–153. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10912-010-9135-z.
Sebastian, C., Blakemore, S. J., & Charman, T. (2009). Reactions to ostracism in adolescents with autism spectrum conditions. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 39(8), 1122–1130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0725-4.
Sedgewick, F., Hill, V., Yates, R., Pickering, L., & Pellicano, E. (2016). Gender differences in the social motivation and friendship experiences of autistic and non-autistic adolescents. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1297–1306. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-015-2669-1.
Sreckovic, M. A., Hume, K., & Able, H. (2017). Examining the efficacy of peer network interventions on the social interactions of high school students with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2556–2574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3171-8.
Underwood, M. K. (2007). Introduction to the special issue gender and children’s friendships: Do girls’ and boys’ friendships constitute different peer cultures, and what are the trade-offs for development? Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 53(3), 319–324.
Vermeulen, P. (2014). The practice of promoting happiness in autism. Promoting happiness and wellbeing in autism. Birmingham: British Institute of Learning Difficulties.
Vincent, J., Potts, M., Fletcher, D., Hodges, S., Howells, J., Mitchell, A., … Ledger, T. (2016). ‘I think autism is like running on Windows while everyone else is a Mac’: Using a participatory action research approach with students on the autistic spectrum to rearticulate autism and the lived experience of university. Educational Action Research, 25(2), 300–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/09650792.2016.1153978.
Vine Foggo, R. S., & Webster, A. A. (2017). Understanding the social experiences of adolescent females on the autism spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 35, 74–85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2016.11.006.
Webster, A. A., & Carter, M. (2010). Observations of relationships between children with developmental disabilities and peers in inclusive settings. Special Education Perspectives, 19(2), 7–23.
Webster, A. A., & Carter, M. (2012a). Characteristics of the closest relationships between children with developmental disabilities and peers in inclusive settings. Australasian Journal of Special Education, 34(01), 61–78. https://doi.org/10.1375/ajse.34.1.61.
Webster, A. A., & Carter, M. (2012b). A descriptive examination of the types of relationships formed between children with developmental disability and their closest peers in inclusive school settings. Journal of Intellectual and Developmental Disability, 38(1), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.3109/13668250.2012.743650.
Webster, A. A., & Carter, M. (2012c). Mutual liking, enjoyment, and shared interactions in the closest relationships between children with developmental disabilities and peers in inclusive school settings. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, 25(4), 373–393. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-012-9319-8.
Webster, A. A., & Garvis, S. (2017a). The importance of critical life moments: An explorative study of successful women with autism spectrum disorder. Autism, 21(6), 670–677. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361316677719.
Webster, A. A., & Garvis, S. (2017b). Creating success fo men on the autism spectrum: The role of identity and logic. Paper presented at the Asia Pacific Autism Conference: Growing with Autism (7–9 September), Autism Spectrum Australia, Sydney, Australia.
Werling, D. M., & Geschwind, D. H. (2013). Sex differences in autism spectrum disorders. Current Opinion in Neurology, 26(2), 146–153. https://doi.org/10.1097/wco.0b013e32835ee548.
White, M. L., Smith, J. D., Smith, T. E. C., & Stodden, R. A. (2012). Autism spectrum disorders: Historical, legislative and current perspectives. In D. Zager, M. L. Wehmeyer, & R. L. Simpson (Eds.), Educating students with autism spectrum disorders (pp. 3–12). New York: Routledge.
Wolfberg, P., Bottema-Beutel, K., & DeWitt, M. (2012). Including children with autism in social and imaginary play with typical peers: Integrated play groups model. American Journal of Play, 5(1), 55.
Wolfberg, P. J. (2009). Play and imagination in children with autism. Overland Park, KS: Autism Asperger.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Bennett, M., Webster, A.A., Goodall, E., Rowland, S. (2018). Establishing Social Inclusion the Autism Way: Denying the “They Don’t Want Friends” Myth. In: Life on the Autism Spectrum. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3359-0_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-3359-0_9
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-13-3358-3
Online ISBN: 978-981-13-3359-0
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)