Friendship experiences of primary school age girls with high-functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder: Parents’ and teachers’ perspectives (original) (raw)
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European Journal of Special Needs Education, 2016
Establishing and maintaining friendships is frequently challenging for young people with autism spectrum conditions (ASC). However, few studies have explored influences on friendship development, meaning that knowledge of friendship formation processes remains limited at a critical point in social development. As friendship can impact on well-being and the success of educational inclusion, addressing this issue is important and timely. This study explores friendship among adolescents with ASC, and in particular the meaning and nature of friendship, including perceived influences on its development. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine participants: three adolescent students with ASC, a parent of each student, and key teachers. Students were found to have an understanding of friendship, although parents often felt it was theoretical and did not correlate with their own experiences. All of the students expressed a desire for friendship and reported having experienced loneliness. Friendships tended to centre on structured activities such as computer games, which provided both support and obstacles for friendship development. Further individual and contextual influences included levels of maturity, understanding of social rules, school environment, and peer acceptance. The implications of these findings are discussed in relation to research and practice in educational settings.
European Journal of Special Needs Education, 2017
To date little is known about the experiences of girls with autism, or how they live with and manage their autism. This qualitative study explored experiences of learning, friendships and bullying of girls with autism. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 girls with autism, aged 11-17 years, and one parent of each girl. Thematic analysis identified key themes relating to motivation to have friends, challenges for girls with autism and the notion that many girls tend to mask their autism, which had both positive and negative consequences. Overall, the girls were motivated to have friends, but often encountered social difficulties and were sometimes targeted for bullying. Findings pointed to the need for interventions such as staff training and programmes to support the social interaction of girls with autism based on their specific perceptions of friendship.
Parent Perceptions of Barriers to Friendship Development for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders
Communication Disorders Quarterly, 2018
This current study explores parent perceptions of barriers to friendship development for highly verbal children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in mainstream academic settings. Participants were 10 parents of school-age children with ASD in mainstream classrooms. Findings from semistructured interviews and qualitative analysis pointed to five central themes regarding barriers to friendship development: propinquity, attempts at social exposure, common social problems within ASD, siblings as a protective factor, and parent networks. Results suggest parent networks among parents with mainstreamed children may help to facilitate social opportunities both in and out of school. Further investigation is needed to explore possible solutions to help parents to better support friendship development.
Children, 2021
Background: Children’s Friendship Training (CFT) is a parent-assisted intervention programme that introduces children to basic sets of social rules to help them understand social contexts with specific guidance from their parents. It has been reported in several empirical studies that the friendship skills of children with autism spectrum disorder were enhanced after participating in CFT. However, previous studies only focused on the effectiveness of the training without exploring it from the parent’s perspective. As such, the objective of this study is to highlight the parents’ experience in assisting in the implementation of CFT. Purpose: To explore the parents’ experiences with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in CFT and examine the experiences using the CFT as a theoretical framework. Methodology: In this study, eight parents and their school-aged children with ASD participated in 12 CFT sessions. Upon completing the CFT, the parents participated in a focus group interview. The in...
Understanding the social experiences of adolescent females on the autism spectrum
Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2017
Background: Adolescent females with autism spectrum disorder often face numerous challenges when socially interacting with their same-sex peers. This is an area previously unconsidered in empirical research, due in part to the predominance of males with ASD. However, female teenage relationships constitute a unique culture, necessitating specific social skills. For the adolescent girl on the autism spectrum, varying degrees of difficulties with social communication and social relationships may result in unique perceptions regarding friendships with other girls. Method: Utilising a phenomenological approach, an inductive thematic approach was used to analyse the self-described accounts of social experiences and expectations, by adolescent females on the autism spectrum. Results: Through written accounts and interviews, participants revealed both a desire for, and a mature understanding of the characteristics of both friendships and best friend relationships. Participants all reported conflict with peers, and had more difficulty ascertaining the expectations of peers or socialising in groups. Conclusions: Findings: from this study contradicts stereotypes that people on the autism spectrum are not capable of developing quality friendships. The participants in this study engage in quality relationships with their female peers, but also require time to de-stress and pursue their own interests. The information disclosed by the participants in this study facilitates an understanding of the social experiences and perceptions of social expectations of adolescent females with ASD, as a unique and often unrecognised phenomenon.
This article reports findings from an interpretevist, qualitative study exploring the connections and dynamics of friendship among three groups of secondary school-aged young adults. Each group included an individual with autism or intellectual and developmental disabilities who had extensive or pervasive support needs, and at least one high school student without disabilities. Data were collected through naturalistic observation and semi-structured interviews of the friends in two public high schools and one after-school dance program. Data were analyzed inductively to examine how the students enacted their friendships on a daily basis and how they made meaning of their friendships practically and conceptually. The thematic findings included (a) excitement and motivation, (b) shared humor, (c) normalized supports, (d) mutual benefits, and (e) differing conceptions of friendships. Implications of the findings, including descriptors of friendship and a broader conceptualization of reciprocity, are discussed.
Parent perspectives on autistic girls' friendships and futures
Background and aims: Young people's parents often play a key role in facilitating friendships and have their own views on these friendships. Yet parents have rarely been asked to report on the friendships and peer relationships of their autistic children. This study therefore sought to examine parents' perspectives on the friendships and social difficulties of their autistic daughters, and their views and concerns about their daughters' futures. Methods: Twenty parents of autistic adolescent girls, aged between 11 and 18 years, took part in semi-structured interviews on the topics of friendships, conflict and thoughts about adulthood and the future. Results: Results demonstrated that parents often have significant involvement in their daughters' social lives and friendships and have a range of views on these relationships. They highlighted both benefits and pitfalls of their daughters' peer interactions, and the perceived negative influence of these interactions on their daughters' mental health. Most parents had significant concerns about their daughters' futures, either about their ability to live independently, or their potential vulnerability to exploitation. Despite these concerns around sexual relationships, some parents were avoiding raising the issue with their daughters. Conclusions: Adolescent autistic girls often have positive, close friendships, but can also be the victims of bullying, with significant negative impacts on their mental health, at least according to their parents. Concerns about girls' development into adulthood were commonplace, with parents taking a range of approaches to attempt to talk about the future with their daughters. Implications: There is an urgent need for more open conversations to help autistic girls stay safe and secure as they mature, supporting their ability to understand and negotiate more intimate social relationships. Future research should examine these changing relationships as autistic girls' transition to adulthood and should seek to combine the views of parents alongside the young people themselves.
This is an interpretivist qualitative study that explores the contexts and dynamics of friendships between three groups of young adults; each group includes an individual with autism or severe disability and nondisabled high school students. The most prominent finding identified in the data was that educators affected opportunities for social interactions between students with and without autism or severe disability. Educator influence on social participation included factors that decreased interactions, such as missed opportunities for social interactions and social consequences of academic supports. Educator influence also included factors that increased interactions, specifically four strategies to increase social interactions and facilitate possible friendships or maintain existing friendships between students with and without autism or severe disability.