Outcomes of real-world social interaction for autistic adults paired with autistic compared to typically developing partners

Differences in social communication and interaction styles between autistic and typically developing have been studied in isolation and not in the context of real-world social interaction. The current study addresses this “blind spot” by examining whether real-world social interaction quality for autistic adults differs when interacting with typically developing relative to autistic partners. Participants (67 autism spectrum disorder, 58 typically developing) were assigned to one of three dyadic partnerships (autism–autism: n = 22; typically developing–typically developing: n = 23; autism–typically developing: n = 25; 55 complete dyads, 15 partial dyads) in which they completed a 5-min unstructured conversation with an unfamiliar person and then assessed the quality of the interaction and their impressions of their partner. Although autistic adults were rated as more awkward, less attractive, and less socially warm than typically developing adults by both typically developing and autistic partners, only typically developing adults expressed greater interest in future interactions with typically developing relative to autistic partners. In contrast, autistic participants trended toward an interaction preference for other autistic adults and reported disclosing more about themselves to autistic compared to typically developing partners. These results suggest that social affiliation may increase for autistic adults when partnered with other autistic people, and support reframing social interaction difficulties in autism as a relational rather than an individual impairment.

Differences in social communication, goals, and expectations may lead to poor interpersonal experiences when autistic and typically developing adults interact. To date, few studies have examined real-time social interaction for autistic adults. The current study examined how interaction quality and first impression formation differs when autistic adults interact with other autistic adults compared to when they interact with typically developing adults. Sixty-seven autistic adults and 58 typically developing adults participated in one of three different conversation groups (autistic–autistic, autistic–typically developing, and typically developing–typically developing) in which they were tasked to get to know their unfamiliar partner for 5 min. After the conversation, participants recorded their first impressions of their partner and their impression of the quality of the interaction. Results showed that both autistic and typically developing adults rated their autistic partners less favorably than typically developing partners. In addition, only typically developing adults were more interested in future interaction with other typically developing adults than with autistic adults. However, autistic adults expressed a trend-level preference for future interaction with other autistic adults. Autistic adults also reported feeling closer to their partners than did typically developing adults, and disclosed more about themselves to autistic partners relative to typically developing partners. These findings suggest that social outcomes are dependent on the fit between the person and their social environment, with some aspects of social interaction improving for autistic adults when partnered with other autistic adults. Results also highlight the benefit of studying social abilities in autism within real-world contexts.