Autistic people are much more likely to experience loneliness than non-autistic people. Despite this, negative stereotypes remain that autistic people aren’t motivated to seek out meaningful social connections. In this talk we share findings from our latest research which challenge these stereotypes and reveal the profound distress autistic people experience concerning their loneliness.

We will present findings from two studies on experiences of loneliness in autistic and non-autistic adults, including the role of sensory differences for loneliness, share perspectives from our autistic participants, and suggest ways in which society can tackle the loneliness experienced by autistic people.