{"id":1710,"date":"2022-06-15T08:54:17","date_gmt":"2022-06-15T08:54:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/appliedabcstg.wpenginepowered.com\/?p=1710"},"modified":"2025-06-23T11:21:11","modified_gmt":"2025-06-23T15:21:11","slug":"5-tips-to-help-a-child-with-autism-make-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/appliedabc.com\/es\/5-tips-to-help-a-child-with-autism-make-friends\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Tips To Help A Child With Autism Make Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Making friends and learning how to maintain social relationships can be challenging for anyone growing up. But for those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), building new and meaningful relationships can seem especially scary.<\/p>\n

In an article titled Social Networks and Friendships at School: Comparing Children With and Without ASD<\/a>, Connie Kasari et al. collected self, peer, and teacher reports to study the social relationships of 60 high-functioning children with ASD.<\/p>\n

The group found that \u201cChildren with ASD were more often on the periphery of their social networks, reported poorer quality friendships, and had fewer reciprocal friendships.\u201d<\/p>\n

Their study found that 20% of children with ASD in the sample had a reciprocated friendship. A study<\/a> by Ya-Chih Chang et al. targeting pre-school-aged children resulted in similar data, showing that 20% of participants with ASD in their overall sample had friendships.<\/p>\n

Despite these stats, children with autism should not give up on making friends<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

Quality friendships can help children who feel isolated build a strong support network and gain confidence. And although making friends can be challenging for everyone, finding knowledge from your community, peers, and autism resources can go a long way.<\/p>\n

Read on to find out five tips to help your child with autism spectrum disorder make friends<\/strong>. Have an official autism diagnosis for your child and looking for treatment? haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> to fill out an autism therapy assessment.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Tip 1: Learning How to Further Manage Social Anxiety\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Researchers like Gilliott, et al. in their article Anxiety in Children With Autism<\/a> wanted to find out if children with autism spectrum disorder felt more anxious socially compared to those not diagnosed with autism.<\/p>\n

They discovered that \u201cchildren with autism were found to have considerably higher levels of anxiety than both the SLI and normally developing groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott Bellini, Ph.D. and the Director of the Social Skills Research Clinic, delved into this further in The Development of Social Anxiety in Adolescents With Autism Spectrum Disorders<\/a> when he states that \u201cA child with a temperament that is marked with high physiological arousal would be more vulnerable to developing social fears and worries following negative peer encounters\u2026 This is particularly important for adolescents with ASD.\u201d<\/p>\n

Children with autism may often worry about what to say in social situations or how their words may be perceived by others. Bellini notes that social skill training could be a viable strategy for reducing social anxiety in children and adolescents with ASD.<\/p>\n

An example of social skill training could be for a child with autism to join a Social Skills Group (SSG). SSGs let children with autism practice skills with a dedicated ABA therapist and a group of peers in a low-stress environment.<\/p>\n

haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/a> to learn more about Social Skills Groups at Applied ABC.<\/p>\n

Tip 2: Mastering Social Skills<\/strong><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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\u00a0Making and keeping friends means mastering several social skills. Some of these skills may include:<\/p>\n