Environmental pre-requisites and social interchange: the participation experience of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder in Zurich

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of participants.

Participants	1	2	3	4	5	6
Age	16 (pilot)	17	15	16	20	20
Gender	Male	Male	Male	Male	Male	Male
Diagnosis
ASD	Asperger	Asperger	Asperger	Asperger	ASD	Asperger
Co-morbidity	None	ADHD	None	ADHD	Social anxiety	Migraine
Age at diagnosis	7	8	7	9	6	12
Parents
Marital status	Separated	Married	Married	Married	Widow	Married
Education mother	Low	Middle	High	High	Middle	Middle
Education father	High	Low	High	High	Low	High
Living condition
With whom location	Mother rural	Parents urban	Parents suburbs	Parents suburbs	Mother rural	Alone* urban
School/Work
Type	Private school	Private school	Regular school	Internship	Apprenticeship (polygraph)	University (informatics)
Support	Individual learning plan	Individual learning plan	Small class	Special needs support	Special needs support	None
Interview place	School garden	Home	Home	Café	Therapy place	University

*Weekends with parents.

Figure 1. “Sunday walk”, data retrieved on Sunday August 27th, 2017 13:28.

Table 2. Areas of participation (activities or situations).

Participants	1	3	4	5	6	6
“Like to participate”	Bus Train Guitar lesson Shooting club Riding in the car Restaurants	Bus Train Tram Reading in the park Taekwondo	Bus Train Music class Station Cinema Walking the dog	Bus Train Tram Fishing club Volleyball Archery Visiting friend Museum	Bus Train Walking Hiking Fitness club Library Family visits Skiing Workplace	Public dinner Workplace Sports Concert Boat trip University study room**
“Dislike to participate”	Funerals	Disco Parties Bar Public swimming pool	Skiing Shooting club Art	Disco Bar	Public bathroom Long-distance travelling	None
“Tension”	station* busses*	Zoo Museum Cinema	Youth club Church	Shopping Cinema Workplace	Receptions Shopping	Parties University study room**

*During rush hours; **Two different study rooms.

Table 3. Main theme I: environmental pre-requisites to attend activities.

Subthemes	Facilitators	Barriers	Tension
Company of trusted persons	Trusted persons with long-term relationships Persons initiate, prepare, organise and accompany Persons provide enjoyment of being together	Missing familiar person Pursue different interests and refrain from shared joy	Trusted persons are less reliable or capable Inability to initiate or organise
Presence of a nudging drive	Aims and obligations are communicated Authentic learning activities Meets adolescent’s interest and their active approval Activities involving regular, manageable motor skills	Aims or obligations are not provided Fail to address adolescent’s interests Construction of artificial or difficult activities	Presence of competing volitional factors to participate
Provision of knowledge and information	Insight into organisational processes and rules Spatial orientation Structure, regularity, frequency, intensity grading of participation Security through feeling of preparedness	Underestimating preparation to get informed Inability to provide structure, regularity or adaptation to the adolescent’s learning process Underestimating needs for sameness and security	Unforeseeable situations with problems Participating too early without enough routine or preparation
Presence of positive vibes	Friendly, kind social climate Funny persons are less intimidating Lightness and ease	Moody, rough, impolite or offensive social climate Openly sad situation Conflicting situation Stress	A lapse in a generally positive, friendly atmosphere.
Design of the physical environment	Possibilities of influencing physical features Availability of diverse spaces that are well labelled Prevention of density through architecture and regulations	Uncontrollable physical features No quiet places Unforeseen density	The sum of physical environmental aspects Fatigue and stress accelerate the perception of physical features negatively

Figure 2. “Fish club”, data retrieved on Wednesday December 6th, 2017, 20:39.

Figure 3. “Caritative event”, data retrieved on Thursday October 17th, 2017, 18:26.

Figure 4. “Tram Zurich”, data retrieved on Friday July 7th, 2017 m 13:10.

Figure 5. “Shooting club”, data retrieved on Tuesday July 18th, 2017, 13:24.

Figure 6. “Study room”, data retrieved on Thursday October 19th, 2017, 18:26.

Table 4. Main theme II: social interchange and engagement.

Subtheme	Facilitators	Barriers	Tensions
Being approached	Proactive behaviour Being asked Patience for answers	Lack of pro-active approach Lack of invitation Lack of explanation	Overstraining approaches Gazing problems
Becoming a group member	Organised group session	Large, informal groups	Pace (velocity)
	Clear rules for communication Les priority of talking	Irregular meetings Quick conversations	Feeling inhibited in reacting
Being acknowledged and gently guided	Provide positive feedback Indicating gently what to do Acceptance Expression of gratitude for presence	Negative feedback Low tolerance Stigmatised judgement	Small issues can set off feelings of inappropriateness

Figure 7. “Reception”, data retrieved on Wednesday September 20th, 2017, 19:17.