Main Group

https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/25739581251382389?journalCode=aut 

I identify with much of this study including spending time with pets. Here are some excerpts:

“Conclusions: Our findings show that autistic adults face dilemmas as they try to balance their desire for social connection with their limited energy for engaging in social experiences. Our results also highlight the societal and environmental factors that contribute to loneliness in autistic people, such as a perceived lack of acceptance of autistic differences. Finally, we identified potential ways to alleviate loneliness among autistic adults (e.g., connecting with similar others and understanding oneself).

What were the results of the study?

We found four main themes that describe autistic adults’ experiences of loneliness.

First, autistic adults reported feeling tensions between their desire for social connections and the difficulties they experienced in achieving such connections.

Second, our participants elaborated on the many and varied barriers to achieving social connections, including disabling sensory environments, a lack of societal understanding and acceptance of autism, and challenges in finding and connecting with similar others.

Third, autistic adults emphasized the importance of finding and maintaining meaningful relationships, whether through connecting with others who share similar experiences, or spending time with pets or animals. Autistic adults also tended to report relying heavily on one close person, even though this strategy was accompanied by a fear of losing that person.

Finally, our participants discussed the need to come to terms with the reality of the autistic experience of loneliness, through a process of accepting one’s autistic identity and by no longer resisting the autistic experience of loneliness.

What do these findings add to what was already known?

This study highlights that a key aspect of loneliness for autistic adults involves a conflict between their desire for social connections and the barriers they face in realizing these connections. This work expands existing knowledge by emphasizing several crucial aspects of the autistic experience.

First, autistic adults discussed the frustration involved in wanting social connections while needing to manage their limited energy for engaging in social connections.

Second, autistic adults reported that feelings of not fitting in or not being understood/misunderstood, coupled with a lack of societal understanding and acceptance of autism, underpin loneliness in autistic adults.

Third, autistic adults reported that connecting with similar others and accepting one’s autistic differences help lessen loneliness."