“Neurodivergent people just get each other”: Navigating friendship and community in the transition to adulthood for autistic adults

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Wolpe, S., Tien, I. S., Lee, M., Sozeri, S., & Humphrey, I. M. (2025). “Neurodivergent people just get each other”: Navigating friendship and community in the transition to adulthood for autistic adults. Research in Autism, 128, 202692. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.reia.2025.202692

Publication date: 30 Aug 2025 Added to AutiHub: 17 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
5
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 5 (20.0%)
  1. Samara Wolpe
  2. Ingrid S. Tien *
  3. Maxwell Lee
  4. Sila Sozeri
  5. Iman M. Humphrey

Abstract

Purpose Quality friendships are integral to wellbeing for many autistic adults. However, the prevalence of loneliness is felt by many in the autistic community. The current study examines autistic adults’ social experiences in navigating friendships throughout early adulthood through a series of semi-structured interviews. Methods Seventeen autistic adults were interviewed on the subject of transitioning to adulthood. Themes related to friendships and relationships were analyzed. Data analyses followed the guidelines for reflexive thematic analysis proposed by Braun and Clarke (2024a;b). Results Participants recalled Forging Friendships, discomfort around stereotypes of autism, and gaining confidence in engaging in self-soothing behaviors. When creating friendships, participants experienced Sensory Overwhelm and struggled to explain their compensatory behaviors. As their friendships became closer, participants described Unmasking/Vulnerability as their friends got to know their authentic selves. When Creating Boundaries, participants recalled difficulties navigating sexual and romantic contact, difficulty discerning others’ motives, and struggles with realizing their own discomfort. Participants discussed Disclosure of their autistic identity, and Finding Community with other autistic individuals. Conclusion The findings from this study help to inform the field’s understanding of the social experiences of autistic adults, as well as ways in which future intervention design and services can support autistic adults developing meaningful, lasting relationships throughout their lives.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 20 Sep 2026 01:01.

Cited references
44
With a DOI
39
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
5
9 / 44 (20.5%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
5 / 44 (11.4%)
References with detected author names
39 / 44 (88.6%)
Without detected author names
5
Without a structured title
5
Without a stable identifier
5
References with raw author names still to review
5
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
153
From DOI or external metadata
153
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
15
75 / 153 (49.0%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 78 / 153 (51.0%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
15 / 153 (9.8%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 15 / 75 (20.0%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 12 / 140 (8.6%).
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