'Someone like-minded in a big place': Autistic young adults' attitudes towards autistic peer support in mainstream education.

Researchers interviewed 13 autistic young adults about whether they would have wanted peer support from other autistic students while at school. The participants were very interested in this idea and felt it could help with belonging and wellbeing. They wanted any peer support to be flexible, positive, and celebrate neurodiversity. The findings suggest autistic students may benefit from connecting with other autistic peers in school settings.

This qualitative study interviewed 13 autistic young adults in the UK who had recently left mainstream schooling to explore their attitudes toward autistic peer support programs. Participants expressed strong enthusiasm for peer support initiatives, emphasizing the need for flexible, inclusive, and neurodiversity-affirming approaches. They identified potential benefits including improved belonging and wellbeing, while also acknowledging potential challenges of implementing such programs within school settings. The findings suggest that autistic young people value connections with like-minded peers and support the growing evidence base for benefits of autistic-autistic interactions.

Results provide foundational insights for developing pilot peer support programs in mainstream educational settings.

Findings support developing pilot autistic peer support programs in mainstream schools with emphasis on flexibility and neurodiversity-affirming approaches. Educational professionals should consider facilitating connections between autistic students while being mindful of implementation challenges. Further research needed to test actual effectiveness of such programs.

Small sample size of 13 participants limits generalizability. Retrospective design relies on participants' memories of school experiences. UK-specific context may not apply to Australian educational settings. No actual implementation or effectiveness testing of peer support programs was conducted.

Autistic young people may struggle in mainstream schools and feel disconnected from their peers and their school. We know that autistic adults can benefit from spending time with other autistic people, but we don't know if this is the case for younger autistic people. We conducted interviews with 13 autistic young adults in the United Kingdom who recently left mainstream schooling. We asked them if they would have been interested in being involved in autistic peer support when they were at school, and if so, what that peer support should look like.

Results indicated that autistic young people were enthusiastic about the idea of peer support. They thought it was important that peer support was flexible to suit their needs at different times, as well as inclusive, positive, and embracing neurodiversity. They also discussed the potential benefits and difficulties of having a peer support system within a school setting. This adds to the growing body of research on the potential benefits of autistic-autistic interactions on autistic people's well-being and sense of belonging.

Findings can be used to help design pilot peer support projects in schools that can be tested to see how effective they are.