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Asperger Syndrome and Social Relationships: Adult Friendships

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Title: Asperger Syndrome and Social Relationships: Adult Friendships


1
Asperger Syndrome and Social Relationships
Adult Friendships
Anja Rutten Senior Lecturer Psychology and
Counselling Staffordshire University
2
What is Asperger syndrome
  • Asperger syndrome (AS) is a high-functioning form
    of Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
  • Triad of impairment
  • Precise cause unknown, no cure
  • Affects more men than women
  • Intellectual ability average or above
  • Uneven profile of abilities
  • (Attwood, 2006 Baron-Cohen Bolton, 2002 Frith,
    2003 Wing, 1996)

3
Asperger syndrome and social relationships
  • Many people with AS want social relationships but
    experience problems
  • Problems can occur in many areas of social
    relationships, from a young age
  • Using imagination (development of play)
  • Making and maintaining friendships
  • Turn taking
  • Negotiating and compromising
  • Mutuality

4
Social relationships across the lifespan
  • Three phases of development
  • Childhood
  • Adolescence
  • Adulthood
  • One main type of social relationship outside of
    the family is friendship
  • Childhood phases in development of friendship
    skills are vitally important it is necessary to
    talk a bit about these

5
Friendship
  • Our experience of friendship alters with age
  • There has been a substantial amount of research
    and model-making around the development of
    children's abilities to make friends
  • Adult friendships have been under-researched
  • Adult friendships where one or more of those
    involved have AS have (as far as I am aware) not
    been researched at all

6
Development of friendship
  • There are a number of theories about how
    friendship develops.
  • I will discuss Selman (1980) and Pahl (2000)
  • They are not very different, but Selman uses a
    stage approach and Pahl an age approach
  • This is important when were talking about
    development of friendships in people with AS

7
Stage model of friendship
  • Selman (1980) explained friendships and disputes
    in stages
  • Stage 0. Everyone you play with is a friend, but
    friendships only last as long as the play
    session! Physical strategies for conflict
    resolution.
  • Stage 1. A friend is someone who gives you help,
    but there is no reciprocal exchange at this
    level. Friendships are still quite transient.

8
Selman (continued)
  • Stage 2. Friendship are longer lasting, due to
    growth of reciprocity, trust and intimacy.
  • Stage 3. Friendships can be maintained through
    minor conflicts. More focus on the relationship
    itself. Trust, mutual support, but jealousy.
  • Stage 4. Only found at adolescence and adulthood.
    Less possessiveness and jealousy than stage 3,
    due to recognition of individual needs.
    Friendship provides personal identity.

9
Age model of typical friendship
  • Pahls (2000) Five Stage Model
  • Aged 3-4 children start to use the term
    'friendto describe playmates
  • Aged 4-7 children start to appreciate that own
    views and identity is different from others
  • Aged 6-12 children start to be able to 'put
    themselves in other peoples' shoes (Empathy)

10
Pahl (2000) continued
  • Aged 9-15 children/young people are able to take
    on the perspective of a 'third person' to look
    at interactions and, thus, to work on
    relationships.
  • Aged 12 there is a recognition that individual
    friendship is part of a larger network of
    relationships - and that friends are linked with
    others in 'personal communities'. (Pahl 2000
    99-101)

11
Friendship stages and Autistic Spectrum Disorders
  • Difficulties can occur in each of Selmans
    stages, but because the stages build on each
    other, there are also cumulative difficulties
  • Delays and differences in social development
    (Pahls ages) leaves people with AS out of synch
    with peers
  • For many people with Asperger syndrome,
    especially in adolescence, there is a great
    difference between physical and emotional
    maturity

12
How does ASD impact on social relationships of
adults?
At 24 years of age, I feel I am a foreign
element here in the world of adults. Im never
sure if I belong in the category of adult,
adolescent, or child. I am caught between the
three. I definitely have the thoughts and
feelings of a man, the personality of an
adolescent, and some of the needs and
vulnerabilities of a child. All these are
apparent at different times. In terms of
development, my therapist asked me where I
thought I feel within these three categories. My
category does not seem to be static. There are
times, situations both social and personal, when
I feel in turns like an adult, an adolescent and
a child. Stoddart (2005316)
13
Why are friendships so important?
  • Peer relations contribute substantially to
    bothsocial and cognitive development and to the
    effectiveness with which we function as adults.
  • Single best childhood predictor of adult
    adaptation is the adequacy with which the child
    gets along with other children.

14
  • Children who are generally disliked, who are
    aggressive and disruptive, who cant sustain
    close relationships with other children, and who
    cant establish a place for themselves in the
    peer culture, face problems and risks in their
    development (Katz McClellan, 1997).
  • Accessible friendship (knowing who you could ask
    to go with you) is not the same as inclusive
    friendship (being asked by others to
    participate). (Malikiosi-Loizos Anderson,
    1999).

15
Consequences
  • Lack of social support leads to loneliness,
    boredom, lower self-esteem, anxiety and
    depression (Carbery Buhrmester, 1998)
  • The majority of people with AS (65) meet
    diagnostic criteria for comorbid psychiatric
    disorders, in particular anxiety and depression
    (Deudney Shah, 2001 Ghaziuddin, 2005)
  • People with AS are more like to suffer from
    anxiety and depression
  • As part of their AS
  • As part of social isolation
  • This creates a vicious circle

16
Consequences
  • In terms of effect on well-being in
    neurotypicals, friends contribute more to the
    well-being of older people than family.
  • It appears to be the immediate enjoyment of
    friendship that is important (Larson, Mannell
    Zuzanek, 1986, Hartup Stevens, 1997).
  • Adults with AS depend largely on parental and
    family support. They tend to have little access
    to immediate friendship
  • This has implications for later life!

17
How do NTs form friendships?
  • Many NT adults form friendships and intimate
    relationships at work or through work colleagues
  • Employment is not accessible to many people with
    AS and so they lose out on valuable opportunities
  • Solitude can be important in keeping anxiety
    levels down, but gets in the way of forming and
    maintaining friendships

18
What do AS adults say about social situations?
  • How stressful?
  • No answer or N/A 3
  • Extremely stressful 34
  • Very stressful 44
  • A little 18
  • Not at all 1
  • Support?
  • No answer or N/A 4
  • Yes 34
  • No 62
  • Beardon and Edmonds (2007)

19
So what can help?
  • Social support specific inclusion of adults
    with AS
  • Social groups for adults either AS or AS/NT mix
  • Parents teaching and modelling social skills
  • Partner
  • Befriender, Circle of friends, Buddy system
  • Internet groups, Special interest friends

20
So what can help?
  • Explicit education and skills development
  • Friendship skills for adults (although
    development of friendship skills needs to start
    in childhood)
  • Social skills what is appropriate behaviour for
    others dating, relationships romantic,
    sexual and friendship
  • Other social skills
  • Counselling

21
In conclusion
  • Early help is key but a lifelong approach needs
    to be taken
  • It is not just the responsibility of adults with
    AS to develop social skills and reach out
    inclusive friendships are important
  • This is, however, no good if it does not meet
    peoples needs!
  • Explicit teaching about friendship and how it
    develops is important for people with AS
  • Employment is an important way for adults to make
    friends adults with AS need more access to the
    employment market

22
References
  • Attwood, T. (2006). The Complete Guide to
    Asperger's Syndrome. London Jessica Kingsley.
  • Baron-Cohen, S and Bolton, P (2002) Autism The
    Facts. Oxford Oxford University Press
  • Beardon, L., Edmonds, G. (2007). ASPECT
    Consultancy Report A National Report on the
    Needs of Adults with Asperger Syndrome.
  • Carbery, J. Buhrmester, D. (1998). Friendship
    and need fulfillment during three phases of young
    adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal
    Relationships, 15, 393-409
  • Deudney, C., Shah, A. (2001). Mental Health and
    Asperger Syndrome - Information Sheet. London.
  • Frith, U (2003) Autism Explaining the Enigma.
    Oxford Blackwell Publishing
  • Ghaziuddin, M (2005) Mental Health Aspects of
    Autism and Asperger Syndrome. London Jessica
    Kingsley
  • Hartup, W. Stevens, N. (1997) Friendships and
    Adaptation in the Life Course. Psychological
    Bulletin, 121(3), 355-370.

23
References
  • Katz, L. G., McClellan, D. E. (1997). Fostering
    children's social competence The teacher's role.
    Washington, DC National Association for the
    Education of Young Children. ED 413 073.
  • Larson, R. , Mannell, R. Zuzanek, J. (1986).
    Daily Well-Being of Older Adults With Friends and
    Family. Psychology and Aging, 1(2), 117-126.
  • Malikiosi-Loizos, M. Anderson, L. R. (1999).
    Accessible Friendships, Inclusive Friendships,
    Reciprocated Friendships As Related to Social and
    Emotional Loneliness in Greece and the USA.
    European Psychologist, 4(3), 165-178
  • Pahl, R. (2000) On Friendship, Polity Press,
    Oxford.
  • Selman, R. L. (1980). The growth of interpersonal
    understanding. Developmental and clinical
    analyses. New York Academic Press.
  • Stoddart, K. P. (Ed.). (2005). Children, Youth
    and Adults with Asperger Syndrome Integrating
    Multiple Perspectives. London Jessica Kingsley.
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