‘It felt like all my friendship issues suddenly made sense’: The friendship experiences of late-diagnosed autistic women in the UK

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

About the autistic author marker

Metadata sources used for this reference

OpenAlex Crossref BibTeX
Learn more about the sources used

White, E. M. & Fox, L. (2026). ‘It felt like all my friendship issues suddenly made sense’: The friendship experiences of late-diagnosed autistic women in the UK. Research in Neurodiversity, 2, Article 100028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rin.2026.100028

Publication date: 1 May 2026 Added to AutiHub: 7 Oct 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) OpenAlex source

This publication is integrated into AutiHub through:

Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)
  1. Ella-Mae White *
  2. Laura Fox

Abstract

No structured abstract stored for this reference.

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: 23 Oct 2026 07:59.

Cited references
36
With a DOI
26
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
10
8 / 36 (22.2%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 36 (2.8%)
References with detected author names
35 / 36 (97.2%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
10
References with raw author names still to review
1
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
108
From DOI or external metadata
108
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
3
60 / 108 (55.6%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 48 / 108 (44.4%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
10 / 108 (9.3%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 10 / 60 (16.7%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 9 / 93 (9.7%).
  2. Wei Ai , William A. Cunningham , Meng-Chuan Lai (2022). Reconsidering autistic ‘camouflaging’ as transactional impression management . Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 26(8), 631-645. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.05.002 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4281707972
    Crossref OpenAlex
  3. Naomi Winstone , Corinne Huntington , Lisa Goldsack , Elli Kyrou , Lynne Millward (2014). Eliciting rich dialogue through the use of activity-oriented interviews . Childhood, 21(2), 190-206. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/0907568213491771 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2024325496
    Crossref OpenAlex
  4. American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®) .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  6. APA, American Psychological Association (2022). Friendship APA dictionary of psychology .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  7. Melissa H. Kuo , Gael I. Orsmond , Ellen S. Cohn , Wendy J. Coster (2013). Friendship characteristics and activity patterns of adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder . Autism, 17(4), 481-500. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361311416380 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2127202914
    Crossref OpenAlex
  8. Archer (2013). Critical realism .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  9. Felicity Sedgewick , Vivian Hill , Rhiannon Yates , Leanne Pickering , Elizabeth Pellicano (2016). Gender Differences in the Social Motivation and Friendship Experiences of Autistic and Non-autistic Adolescents . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 46(4), 1297. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-015-2669-1 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2199714476
    Crossref OpenAlex
  11. Siobhan Tierney , Jan Burns , Elizabeth Kilbey (2016). Looking behind the mask: Social coping strategies of girls on the autistic spectrum . Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 23(Suppl. C), 73-83. Elsevier BV.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1016/j.rasd.2015.11.013 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2252057154
    Crossref OpenAlex
  12. Bindi Bennett (2019). Life on the autism spectrum: Translating myths and misconceptions into positive futures (2018th edn) [PDF .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  13. Braun (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide . Thematic Analysis, 1.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  14. Lucie Kanfiszer , Fran Davies , Suzanne Collins (2017). ‘I was just so different’: The experiences of women diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder in adulthood in relation to gender and social relationships . Autism, 21(6), 661-669. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361316687987 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2598764139
    Crossref OpenAlex
  15. M. Ariel Cascio , Jonathan Weiss , Éric Racine (2021). Making Autism Research Inclusive by Attending to Intersectionality: a Review of the Research Ethics Literature . Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 8(1), 22-36. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s40489-020-00204-z OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3025970378
    Crossref OpenAlex
  16. Anna Cook , Jane Ogden , Naomi Winstone (2018). Friendship motivations, challenges and the role of masking for girls with autism in contrasting school settings . European Journal of Special Needs Education, 33(3), 302-315. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/08856257.2017.1312797 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2607052951
    Crossref OpenAlex
  17. Laura Hull , K.V. Petrides , C. Allison , P. Smith , S. Baron-Cohen , Meng-Chuan Lai et al. (2017). “Putting on My Best Normal”: Social Camouflaging in Adults with Autism Spectrum Conditions . Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47(8), 2519-2534. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3166-5 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2616560149
    Crossref OpenAlex
  18. Felicity Sedgewick , Vivian Hill , Elizabeth Pellicano (2019). ‘It’s different for girls’: Gender differences in the friendships and conflict of autistic and neurotypical adolescents . Autism, 23(5), 1119. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361318794930 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2894712382
    Crossref OpenAlex
  20. Alexandra Leedham , Andrew R. Thompson , Richard Smith , Megan Freeth (2020). I was exhausted trying to figure it out': The experiences of females receiving an autism diagnosis in middle to late adulthood . Autism, 24(1), 135. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/1362361319853442 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2947577397
    Crossref OpenAlex
  22. Erinn H. Finke , Jillian H McCarthy , Natalie A Sarver (2019). Self-perception of friendship style: Young adults with and without autism spectrum disorder . Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 4. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/2396941519855390 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W2955677552
    Crossref OpenAlex
  25. Laura Fox , Kathryn Asbury (2024). “I need them for my autism, but I don’t know why”: Exploring the friendship experiences of autistic children in UK primary schools . Autism & Developmental Language Impairments, 9, 23969415241275934. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/23969415241275934 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4402335472
    Crossref OpenAlex
  26. Gareth Wiltshire , Noora Ronkainen (2021). A realist approach to thematic analysis: making sense of qualitative data through experiential, inferential and dispositional themes . Journal of Critical Realism, 20(2), 159-180. Informa UK Limited.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1080/14767430.2021.1894909 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W3136607558
    Crossref OpenAlex
  27. Laura Fox , Kathryn Asbury , Aimee Code , Umar Toseeb (2023). Parents’ perceptions of the impact of COVID-19 and school transition on autistic children’s friendships . Autism The International Journal of Research and Practice, 27(4), 983. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/13623613221123734 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4294718984
    Crossref OpenAlex
  28. Karen D. Rudolph , Jillian F. Dodson (2022). Gender differences in friendship values: Intensification at adolescence . The Journal of Early Adolescence, 42(4), 586. SAGE Publications.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1177/02724316211051948 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4220940668
    Crossref OpenAlex
  29. Honeybourne (2015). Girls on the autism spectrum in the classroom: Hidden difficulties and how to help . Good Autism Practice (GAP), 16(2), 11.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  30. Natalie Libster , Azia Knox , Selin Engin , Daniel Geschwind , Julia Parish-Morris , Connie Kasari (2023). Sex differences in friendships and loneliness in autistic and non-autistic children across development . Molecular Autism, 14(1), 9. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1186/s13229-023-00542-9 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4321785268
    Crossref OpenAlex
  31. Yung-Ting Tsou , Lilla Veronika Kovács , Angeliki Louloumari , Lex Stockmann , Els M. A. Blijd-Hoogewys , Alexander Koutamanis et al. (2026). School-Based Interventions for Increasing Autistic Pupils’ Social Inclusion in Mainstream Schools: A Systematic Review . Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 13(1), 45-68. Springer Science and Business Media LLC.
    Type: Article DOI: 10.1007/s40489-024-00429-2 OpenAlex: https://openalex.org/W4391781777
    Crossref OpenAlex
  32. Macmillan, K., Goodall, K., & Fletcher-Watson, S. (n.d.). Do autistic individuals experience understanding in school? A retrospective mixed-methods study. Academia. Edu. 〈 https://www.academia.edu/download/77050037/download.pdf〉 .
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  33. McCrossin (2022). Finding the true number of females with Autistic Spectrum Disorder by estimating the biases in initial recognition and clinical diagnosis . Children (Basel Switzerland), 9(2), 272.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  35. Rubin (2015). Children in peer groups . Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, 4, 175.
    Type: Other
    Crossref
  36. Wolpe (2025). Neurodivergent people just get each other”: Navigating friendship and community in the transition to adulthood for autistic adults . Research in Autism, 128(202692).
    Type: Other
    Crossref