Examining the Social Communication and Community Engagement of Autistic Adults through an Asynchronous Focus Group

2025-06-30

AI Summary

Autistic adults face dynamic communication needs in social interaction and community participation, particularly during emotional fluctuations, shutdowns, variable language abilities, and after late diagnosis—yet existing augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) systems rarely accommodate such neurodivergent variability. Method: We conducted asynchronous online text-based focus groups with autistic adults and applied thematic qualitative analysis. Contribution/Results: Findings reveal that emotional states critically influence communication modality selection; linguistic competence does not preclude AAC benefit; shutdowns necessitate immediate, low-cognitive-load communication; and users consistently report concerns about stigma and misattribution of competence. Based on these insights, we propose three evidence-informed design principles for neurodiversity-affirming AAC: (1) minimal-interaction support during shutdowns; (2) explicit, real-time annotation of individual communicative capacity; and (3) integration of environmental adaptation and self-advocacy features. This work provides empirical grounding and a theoretical framework for inclusive AAC design and practice.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: AI for Accessibility
• Cognitive Modeling & Cognitive Systems: Affective Computing
• Multiagent Systems: Agent Communication

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Social Networks and Social Media: Generative AI / large language models and their impact on social systems

Abstract

Purpose: Little research has explored the communication needs of autistic adults and how their needs differ from those of other disabled populations. Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) can support these communication needs, but more guidance is needed on how to design AAC to support this population. Materials and Methods: We conducted an online, asynchronous, text-based focus group with five autistic adults to explore their social communication and community engagement and how AAC can help support them. Results and Conclusion: Our analysis of the participant responses found that 1) participants' emotional experiences impacted the communication methods they used, 2) speaking autistic adults can benefit from AAC use, and 3) autistic shutdown creates dynamic communication needs. We present implications for future AAC design: supporting communication in times of shutdown, indicating communication ability to communication partners, and a need to better understand the fear of using AAC. These implications can inform the design for future AAC systems. We also provide themes for future autism research: exploring the impact of a late diagnosis, gaining a better understanding of the communication needs during autistic shutdown, and expanding research to include the social and environmental factors that impact communication. Finally, we provide guidance on how future online focus groups can be run in an accessible manner.

Problem

• Exploring communication needs of autistic adults versus other disabled groups
• Designing AAC to support dynamic needs during autistic shutdown
• Improving online focus group accessibility for autistic participants

Innovation

• Asynchronous text-based focus groups
• Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)
• Dynamic communication needs during shutdown