and thereafter we enjoy each other’s company, laugh together, share fabric of each other’s worlds, a valuable part, so that we develop a mutual sense of obligations owed and trust given, and meet each other’s needs for “I never knew that she was someone with special needs, by the way you out of the relationship because you’re clearly not doing things together for works.” (Anonymous, 2019) rights has influenced public policy to safeguard a child’s right to a Free and igence, good memory)’ skills “transition services” as a coordinated set of activities for a child with a disability: the child’s movement from school to post Is based on the individual child’s needs, taking into account the child’s strengths, indicated “Good” to “Very Good” post of “Poor” to “Very Poor” outcome. Cultural value of inclusion in a community can generate “All adults with autism are able to live fulfilling and rewarding live ” (THINK The researcher was a paraprofessional in Zoe’s math and content link classrooms, helped wit Cohen and Wheelright’s (2003) to gain a greater understanding of the Zoe’s rs. Zoe finds friendships relatively important. Responses of the questionnaire included: “I way about life as I do”; “I like to be close to people”; and “quite similar” in terms of interest and indicated “none I don’t get lonely” for the minimum social contacted needed to get through a week. She stated she “makes friends very easily” and “the most important thing about friendship is having someone to have fun with”. Zoe’s verbatim contained 107 identification references. An identification node included specific naming of nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Examples of identification include: “Then we Nabob.”; “Karyn had a tea flavored popsicle and I had a strawberry lemonade flavored popsicle.”; “Then after Karyn left, I went to the store to get some snacks, because I didn’t eat grapes.” communicated the doing of an activity. Examples include: “Today I had an active and fantastic day with Karyn”; “we were going to g and do some painting.” An example of a time reference included: “This morning, I met up with Karyn at 9:30 and we h.”; “So at 11:15, I left the house and went over Karyn texted me and told me that she might be 10 minutes late.”; “We ended up skiing today for at 9:30 and ending at 4:00.” references. Examples include: “I was impressed and wanted to try it for myself, but ended ack up, because I fell on top of a mogul.”; “Since I drying.” Zoe communicated in first person, both in writing and verbally. An “I” reference is made when Zoe literally says “I”. The statements generally referenced choices being made in the I include: “Today I decided to go simple and get the basic mani/pedi.”; “But I ended up finishing my project early, so I let it dry, but then I decided to give more detail by adding in dots of different colors.”; “Some of the oils I putting lavender, geranium and tangerine into the bottle.”; “In my senior year, I did HOSA, looking for a career or anything, but I am just into medicine.” There were 70 description references. Examples of a description reference include: “we decided mood of doing some tree runs.”; “C she often likes to have fruit in her crepes.”; “Karyn was going to drive herself home and walk over and I was going to take the bus into town and meet up with Karyn at the transit center.”; “I around with, uh, active, and caring.” Zoe defined every meeting with the researcher as a “social”. A social reference is made ain subject explicitly says “social” and when there is an indirect remark regarding social interaction. There were 63 social references, examples include: “While I was emailing she brought up the idea of having a social.”; “At another point, Erica introduced this game called Water. She gave us a cup of water and told us that every time she said “ Water,” then we would She said that the purpose was to keep us hydrated.”; “And also while my mom drove me to ZUMBA class this morning, she told me that when I got home, the rule was that I wasn’t allowed to go upstairs.” researcher’s sister participation on one occasion. Examples include: “I got myself some some chili cheese fries and Karyn got herself some hot chocolate.”; “When I told needed one”; “Karyn recently went to a museum that had art and she took pictures of paintings that were made by artists like Monet.”; “One thing that is worth mentioning is, well, that's when I met with my best friend Karyn in 8th grade. Um, she was uh, a teacher’s aide, in Mrs. Bell’s room, and of course I am also friends with M homework, and sad times, and she would always me happy every day.” average rating on the Friendship Questionnaire the participant’s interview and journal responses 0). The respondent’s acknowledgement of choice supports work in both transition friendships. The current finding of action as a main predictor for friendship follows Finke’s the subject’s interview and journal entries revealed that the researcher was clearly a main subject. However, the respondent’s response to every experience outside of the immediate relationship was “I do not remember”. The subject also only shared journal entries about researcher’s name at the top and upon reading the journal entries, it was very clear what istening. This was deemed “socially unacceptable” per IEP meeting as “a light argument” at a nail salon. The day at the nail salon was alarmingly disturbing. The room. When the researcher attempted to address and redirect the technician’s behavior, the other about, the researcher replied with “post secondary outcomes for young adults with ASD”, she exclaimed with a look of curiosity “Oh! I have autism!” At which point she volunteered the topic question, “Do you have any advice for other young people with ASD regarding friendship or advice for people that have friends with ASD?” Her response was eloquently stated (includin the “no” for not available to talk about anything besides our immediate friendship), “No, not really. The only thing that I have to say is keep being the way you are. That's all I have to say.” Individuals choose to participate in each other’s lives, through shared interests and views, – – . I don’t have to do this J. (2015). Transitions are scary for our kids, and they’re – Cridland, E. K., Jones, S. C., Caputi, P., & Magee, C. A. (2014). Being a girl in a boys’ world: Kanfiszer, L., Davies, F., & Collins, S. (2017). ‘I was just so different’: The experien Macleod, A., Lewis, A., & Robertson, C. (2013). ‘Why should I be like bloody rain man?!’ – Rava, J. A., Edwards, A. D., Wei, X.,…& Yu, J. W. ner, J., Strunz, S., Broz’us, J., Ritter, K., Roepke, S., & Dziobek, I. (2015). – – This narrative will focus explicitly on the growth and experiences of a post-secondary transition female with ASD in a specific community setting by (a) describing past and present experiences of friendship; (b) identifying the traits, qualities, and importance of friendship based on experience; (c) foretell the future of friendships. The following questions will be asked: The questions anticipated for the main subject are listed below. The questions may be revised and may or may not be used based on the subjects response. 1. What was your earliest memory of friendship? What did your friendships look like in elementary school? 2. Describe your friends when you were younger: who were they, how did you meet them, what did you do together? 3. What did your friendships look like in junior high and high school? 4. What kind of activities did you participate in during high school? Did you have friends participate in those activities too? 5. Did you have a transition plan with your IEP? Did it address friendships? 6. Describe what makes a good friend. What does friendship mean? What does friendship look like? 7. What will your friendships look like in the future? Do you want to make new friends? What kind of activities do you want to do with friends in the future? 8.Do you have any concerns about friendships? How will these concerns be addressed? 9. How do you maintain friendships? 10. Do you have any advice for others, that have ASD or for those that have friends with ASD? The questions anticipated for the Mother of the main subject are listed below. The questions may be revised and may or may not be used based on the subjects answers. 1. What was the first moment of connecting or relating with others for______? What did her interaction look like? 2. Describe her friends when she was younger: who were they, how did she meet them, what did they do together? 3. What did her friendships look like in junior high and high school? 4. What kind of activities did she participate in during high school? Did she have friends participate in those activities too? 5. Did ____ have a transition plan with her IEP? Did it address friendships? 6. Describe what makes a good friend for ____. What does friendship mean? What does friendship look like? 7.Describe what the main subjects friendships looked like in the past, present, and what you would prefer to see them look like in the future. 8. What will her friendships look like in the future, based on current circumstances? 9. How do you envision a friendship that is in the best interest of the main subject? 10. Do you have any concerns in regards to friendships? How will these concerns be addressed. June 25, 2018 Dear Karyn Pacal, Your project entitled “Friendship: The experience of a young female adult with Autism Apectrum Disorder” has been reviewed and is approved as written. The project was reviewed as “exempt” because it involves using no risk interviews with the participants. The participants in this study are adults and therefore can provide consent to participate in this study. One of your participants has an identified disability and therefore should also have parental consent. Notification of the study and how data will be reported are appropriate. Dr. Dawson is the chair of the committee who will oversee this study. Anonymity and confidentiality are addressed appropriately, and the type of information gathered could not “reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation” (Code of Federal Regulations 45 CFR 46, Subpart D.) You may proceed with your study at this time. Please remember that any anticipated changes to the project and approved procedures must be submitted to the IRB prior to implementation. Any unanticipated problems that arise during any stage of the project require a written report to the IRB and possible suspension of the project. A final copy of your application will remain on file with the IRB records. If you need further assistance or have any questions, call me at 626-8654 or e-mail me at nataliewilliams1@weber.edu Sincerely, Natalie A. Williams Natalie A. Williams, Ph.D. Chair, Institutional Review Board, Education Subcommittee