Community and Social Participation Among Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder Transitioning to Adulthood.

Myers et al. (2015) followed autistic teens into adulthood. They asked how many joined clubs, went shopping, or saw friends.

The team tracked the same people twice: once in high school and again after graduation.

Community outings fell hard. About six in ten teens joined activities, but fewer than five in ten young adults did.

Social life stayed flat. Seeing friends did not change, but it stayed low.

One thing helped: teens who had a case manager kept doing more as adults.

Shawler et al. (2021) saw the same drop. They found structured weekday activities and services both vanish right after high school.

Song et al. (2022) added a twist. They showed living with family cuts how often adults go out, even if the person wants to go.

Hamama et al. (2021) asked what activities matter. Autistic adults said grocery shopping is the one they value most.

Dembo et al. (2023) looked at 113 studies and warned most tools used to track participation are weak. Myers et al. (2015) is one of the few with solid numbers, so the drop it shows is likely real.

You can soften the cliff. Start community goals early in high school and keep them in the adult plan. Push for a case manager before graduation; the data say it pays off later. Track simple counts like ‘days out in the mall or library’ each month. If the number slips, treat it like any other skill loss and run a quick plan update.