Looking behind the mask: Social coping strategies of girls on the autistic spectrum

•10 adolescent girls with ASC were aware of their difficulties forming friendships.•They developed strategies to mask their ASC symptoms to fit in with peers.•The strategies had benefits and costs.•The findings have implications on the diagnostic processes and gender ratio.

The socio-communication deficits of individuals on the autistic spectrum are well documented. However, this has largely been based on the male population and less is known about how females with autism manage social relationships across the developmental period.Ten adolescent female participants with a diagnosis of autism were interviewed and Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis used to explore their experiences of managing their social relationships. The results showed that participants were motivated to develop and maintain friendships, but during adolescence this became increasingly difficult. Consequently, they developed explicit strategies to manage these relationships, including masking and imitation. The use of such strategies was both advantageous and disadvantageous, and such findings should be considered in developing gender sensitive assessment and developmentally appropriate support.