Self-Isolation or Self Preservation: Why Are Teens with Autism Often Alone?

Background:  Adolescence is a tumultuous developmental period. Social challenges are intensified for those with autism as they lack the acuity to navigate the new expectations placed on them. Unfortunately, current research does not adequately describe the social and emotional experience of adolescents with ASDs, particularly those who are fully included in general education.  

Objectives: This study described the experience of fully included adolescents with autism spectrum disorders who were observed to be isolated during most unstructured times in school. Observations yielded compelling accounts of the strategies teenagers use to isolate themselves at school. Considering the phenomenon of self-isolation as a coping mechanism provides a unique description of teenagers in an effort to identify appropriate intervention strategies. 

Methods: 18 teenagers with autism were observed during unstructured times at school (age M=15.1±2.17; ABIQ M=99.33±17.93). Each participant was observed for two 10-minute periods over the course of one week. Engagement states (Orlich et al., 2010; Kasari et al., 2008) were coded and qualitative notes reflecting where the teenagers were and what they were doing were recorded. Participants also completed several self-report measures assessing depression, anxiety, loneliness, friendships and crowd affiliations.

Results: The teenagers in this study reported average levels of depression and anxiety in spite of high levels of loneliness. No statistically significant relationships were found between any of these constructs. Additionally, 52% of the sample was observed to be isolated during social times and only 20.56% of the sample was engaged with peers. No associations were found between depression, loneliness, anxiety and social isolation. A peer crowd affiliation measure revealed that teenagers with autism desired to be affiliated with academic groups (31%) more than with any other social clique in their school.  Qualitative analysis of the observational data revealed that many of these teenagers are self-isolating as opposed to being excluded by their peers. Several themes and strategies emerged including actively disengaging to self-regulate by listening iPods or reading, as well as dodging social interactions by spending time in empty classrooms or in the library.

Conclusions: Given the lack of associations between negative emotional states and isolation, it may be that self-isolation serves a specific need for teenagers with autism. Perhaps it is a way for them to decompress from the social challenges present in school. Another potential explanation could be that the methods they employ: spending time in classrooms and the library are ways for them to try to identify with the academic clique. As affiliation with this crowd may require the least amount of social navigation, it seems plausible that some mechanisms of self-isolation are an effort to fit in. These data provide unique insight into the social environment of teenagers with autism, and contribute to characterizing the potential internal barriers to engaging social experiences.