Friends “Make You Feel Way Better”: Illuminating the Perspectives of Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can struggle with developing and maintaining meaningful friendships. In this qualitative study, we explored their real-life friendship experiences by focusing on the following questions: (a) How do adolescents with ASD conceptualize friendship? and (b) What perceptions do adolescents with ASD have regarding their friendship quality and their level of social engagement with their friends? Participants were eight adolescents aged between 12–17 years, diagnosed with ASD. Semi-structured interviews explored their experiences with their current friendships and social engagement. The data collected were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. We developed Personal Experiential Themes (PETs) for each participant. A cross-case analysis of PETs resulted in four Group Experiential Themes (GETs): (a) We Expect Friends to “Make You Feel Way Better,” (b) “I Like My Friends,” (c) Friendship Isn’t Easy, “I Don’t Really Do Anything Wrong,” and (d) “I Feel Like I Could Use more Friends, Yeah”. Participants’ experiences were not all the same; yet, there was a clear distinction between those who were content with their friendships and those who were not. The four GETs illuminated the participants’ friendship expectations, quality of current friendships and social experiences, difficulties encountered when engaging with peers, and desire for meaningful friendships. Implications for future research are discussed.