Neurodiverse spaces: exploring the potential for social networking to reconstruct our ideas of 'friendship'

As critical researchers engaged in work that celebrates neurodiversity we are interested in ways in which particular spaces can be experienced as AS/NT friendly. Given the strong focus on 'impairments' associated with autism in many of the dominant literatures, particularly the 'impairment in social interaction', alternative understandings of friendship and social interactions are important if we are to engage with neurodiverse relationships. In this poster we explore representations of friendship among autistic people and the potential impact that social networking in online-space such as Facebook or off-line space such camps for autistic people may have in enabling a reconstruction of ideas about friendship and how these alternative notions of 'friendship' may be useful for some autistic people. The growing body of literature focusing on the internet as a potential tool for empowerment for use by people with AS, means that it is important to explore its potential for creating neurodiverse spaces that recognise and respect difference. In this presentation we draw on the example of Facebook and Swedish summer camps for adults with autism to explore the potential for social networking to support neurodiverse communities