Ensomhed hos børn og unge med autisme

In his classic work on autism, Kanner (1943) described a group of children who often played alone, had few social relationships, and a desire for aloneness. The present review introduces recent studies of social isolation and loneliness in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Children and adolescents with ASD (without intellectual disabilities), tend to be more alone/social isolated than typically developing children. Moreover, studies indicate a high occurrence of loneliness in children and adolescents with ASD. The high occurrence of loneliness seems to imply that some children and adolescents with ASD do not lack an interest in human interaction and suffer from unfulfilled social needs. Available evidence about interventions to reduce loneliness in children and adolescents with ASD is limited. However, studies indicate that social skills training has some potential in limiting the social difficulties associated with ASD and reducing loneliness. However, poor skills generalisation is a challenging aspect of social skills training of youngsters with ASD, which is why it is recommended to include parents in interventions.