Atypical social communication is associated with positive initial impressions among peers with autism spectrum disorder

Lay abstract Individuals with autism spectrum disorder demonstrate differences in aspects of social communication, including tone of voice, use of gestures, eye contact, and facial expressions. These social communication differences in autism spectrum disorder can negatively impact friendship formation with peers without autism spectrum disorder. However, little is known about how these differences in social behaviors impact friendship formations between peers with autism spectrum disorder. Moreover, recent research suggests that these very differences may facilitate more effective communication among peers with autism spectrum disorder. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between these differences in social communication and first impressions of peers with autism spectrum disorder, looking specifically at how much peers liked/disliked each other, whether they felt they had become friends, and whether they wanted to play together again. We found that differences in social communication (particularly, eye contact and facial expressions) led to better first impressions as rated by peers with autism spectrum disorder. These results suggest that differences in social communication may not simply be a deficit for youth; rather they may actually help build friendships among peers with autism spectrum disorder. This is important because current social skills interventions generally aim to reduce social communication differences, which may have negative consequences for friendships between peers with autism spectrum disorder.