Why Autism Friend Groups Are Essential For Our Kids
Making friends with autism can be challenging work. It can be even more difficult to find friends for your child who have autism themselves. These friendships are often extremely valuable, however, with the understanding and compassion they tend to be built upon.
Luckily, autism friend groups provide a simple gateway to meaningful relationships and much, much more. Below, we’ll look into exactly what these unique spaces can provide.
Autism Friend Groups Provide a Safe Space
Our kids deserve to feel understood, and that’s exactly what autism friend groups can do. When every member of the conversation is living with the same or similar diagnoses, no one needs to feel “different.” The struggles that each child faces are understood, and often shared, with the people around them. Communication barriers are met with compassionate patience as well. The groups are a place where the walls can come down and our kids can be just that — kids.
These groups are often run by trained and knowledgeable professionals who know how to support members through these shared challenges as well. Small talk isn’t quite as difficult when there’s a caring adult to guide the future friends through the process, and missed social cues won’t turn into misunderstandings with staff members supporting children every step of the way.
Social Skills Practice Is Part of the Process
Autism friend groups provide much more than just pathways to relationships. The professionally trained moderators they’re run by know when to step in — as well as how to do it gently and effectively. The guides help grow all sorts of social skills, including both verbal and nonverbal practices and norms, allowing participants to gain real-life communication tools to use both in and out of the friend group setting.
Some specific social skills autism friend groups can introduce and strengthen include:
Starting and joining conversations
Listening to others and taking turns in conversation
Reading social cues and body language
Expressing emotions appropriately
Giving and receiving compliments and criticisms
Using kind words and manners
Remember, these are just a few of the social skills these groups can improve. The limit is nearly endless with a quality group and well-trained leader. If your child struggles in a specific area or two, there’s a good chance the guide can even focus on strengthening those skills throughout each meetup.
Friendship Comes With Health Benefits
Real, meaningful relationships come from autism friend groups. These friendships can benefit your child at a deeper level than you may expect. Having someone to talk to and spend time with is worth more than we can imagine, but the benefits extend even further than what we can clearly see. In fact, friendship in general can even improve the physical and mental health of those who hold them.
Some main health benefits that have been proven to come from friendship include:
Improved cardiovascular health
Strengthened immune systems
Lower stress levels
Improved cognitive function
Better sleep
Lower levels of depression and anxiety
It’s incredible that something that seems so simple on the surface can have such a profound effect on health, but that’s just what friendship, and a lack of loneliness in general, can do.
It’s Easy to Continue to Connect Every Day
When the relationships are already being formed online, it feels natural to continue conversations outside of sessions via video chat, email, phone call, or text message. This can help your child turn “group friends” into just plain “friends,” strengthening relationships and providing people to grow closer to and rely on through all parts of life.
This friendship format also gives your child people to connect with without having to drive around to different places every day. Their relationships can literally be found at their fingertips, providing them with smiles and support when they need it most.
All in all, it’s clear that autism friend groups are filled with benefits. The meetings provide a safe space that is completely judgement free, and they build on essential life skills, too. They provide an effective space for making friends who understand all that being a child with autism entails.
If you’re ready to give autism friend groups a try in your child’s life, reach out to Ascent Autism today. We’d be more than happy to personally match your child with a group that they can relate to. By taking age, availability, strengths, challenges, and interests into account, we’re able to ensure a comfortable and effective spot for friendship building, skill strengthening, and so much more.
Sep 27, 2021Hye Ryeon Lee, PhDHye Ryeon is a neuroscientist with over 10 years of experience studying Autism Spectrum Disorder, including at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She has published numerous papers on the mechanisms of autism in journals such as Nature, Science, and Nature Neuroscience.https://www.linkedin.com/in/hyeryeonlee/