Experiences of Friendships for Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: A Scoping Review

AbstractFriendships are vital to mental health and well-being. Understanding autistic individuals ’ lived experiences of friendship is necessary to support friendship development. A scoping review exploring autistic individuals’ experiences of friendship was undertaken to understand their perspectives of friendship. Electronic database and manual reference searches identified twenty-two stud ies exploring autistic perspectives of friendship. Results were synthesised using a meta-ethnographic approach across the lifespan. Findings highlight the common and unique experiences of friendship among autistic individuals. While autistic individuals defined friendship based on homophily and prop inquity, similar to non-autistic individuals, unique challenges including friendship insecurity, monotropism and efforts to conform to neurotypical social norms, leading to anxiety, were experienced by autistic individuals.
Source: Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - Category: Child Development Source Type: research