Methodological insights from the inside: developing autistic-friendly interviewing in a group interview space

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Hedlund, Å., Wester, M. E., Edenvik, P., Ingard, C., Isakson, K., Sabel, L. K., Unéus, D., & Bertilsdotter Rosqvist, H. (2026). Methodological insights from the inside: developing autistic-friendly interviewing in a group interview space. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16, 1659580-1659580. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1659580

Publication date: 27 Jan 2026 Added to AutiHub: 4 Jul 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
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Authors

Publication authors
8
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 8 (12.5%)
  1. Åsa Hedlund
  2. Maria Eriksson Wester
  3. Pia Edenvik
  4. Cecilia Ingard
  1. Kajsa Isakson
  2. Lisa Kron Sabel
  3. Danielle Unéus
  4. Hanna Bertilsdotter Rosqvist *

Abstract

Background: A neurodiversity-informed approach recognizes the perspectives and experiences of autistic people from an insider perspective, yet little attention has been given to adapting qualitative methods to account for the impact of cognition, sociality, and communication style of both interviewers and participants. The aim of this paper was to contribute to the development of autistic-friendly interviewing in a group interview space. Methods: The paper is a collective reflexive pilot study, exploring experiences of autistic interviewer and autistic participants in group interviews. The method followed five steps, from deciding what type of interview questions to use to test them in the group interviews. An autistic interviewer conducted three group interviews, each with two to three autistic participants. Interviews and analyses were conducted in Swedish, and the data were then translated into English by the authors. Results: The study identified key insights around four areas: participants' mixed views on the interview guide, the need to accommodate autistic processing styles, the importance of recognizing autistic forms of sociality, and the significance of conducting interviews within an autistic-friendly space that fosters comfort and understanding. Conclusion: The paper outlines step by step the procedure of conducting group interviews with autistic people. We illustrate ways to capture the possibilities of autistic-friendly interviewing by working with-rather than against-autistic cognition, sociality, and communication styles in interviews with autistic people.

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These indicators describe the cited bibliography imported for this publication. Cited-reference metrics use the cited-reference total as denominator. Cited-author metrics state whether they use all cited-author occurrences or only occurrences linked to authors already integrated in the AutiHub database. They use cached links between cited authors and authors integrated in the AutiHub database. Last computed: 16 Aug 2026 11:30.

Cited references
42
Total cited references integrated for this publication.
Cited references with an identified autistic author
12 / 42 (28.6%)
Cited author occurrences identified as autistic
24 / 105 (22.9%)
Among occurrences linked to AutiHub author records: 24 / 50 (48.0%). Distinct cited authors identified as autistic: 20 / 100 (20.0%).
Cited author occurrences linked to AutiHub author records
50 / 105 (47.6%)
Distinct linked cited authors: 45 / 100 (45.0%)
Linked cited-author occurrences not identified as autistic
26 / 50 (52.0%)
Among linked cited-author occurrences only. Across all cited-author occurrences: 26 / 105 (24.8%). Distinct linked cited authors not identified as autistic: 25 / 45 (55.6%).
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