The development of friendships and sociality: exploring the friendships of people with autism

The development of friendships and sociality: exploring the friendships of people with autism

Friendship is considered to be a key relationship for individuals, and much research has investigated the development and maintenance of friendships in typically developing children. Such research charts the basic elements common in friendships, and also the evolving complexity of relationships as an individual matures, with a typical trend seen in a movement away from shared activities, and towards more abstract values such as intimacy and loyalty. Researchers often draw on the positive elements of forming such social relationships, with expected benefits of early friendships important for long term development into adulthood. In contrast to the abundance of research of ‘typical friendships’, there is relatively little research done on the friendship of people with autism. In this paper we seek to question what implications these understandings of friendship might have for young people with autism, whose diagnosis draws heavily on concepts of ‘social impairment’. We propose that such a group may have alternative understandings of friendship and sociality, and these need to be explored more fully in order to understand alternative sociality’s and inform academic and professional debate.

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