Adults with Autistic Spectrum Condition benefit and enjoy learning via social interaction as much as neurotypical adults do

Background: People with Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) show poor processing of social signals (i.e. about the social world). But how do they learn via social interaction? Methods: 68 neurotypicals adults and 60 adults with ASC learned about obscure items (e.g. exotic animals) over zoom i) in live video-call with the teacher, ii) from a recorded learner-teacher interaction video and iii) from a recorded teacher-alone video. Data was analysed via analysis of variance and multi-level regression models. Results: Live-teaching provided the most optimal learning condition, with no difference between groups. Enjoyment was the strongest predictor of learning: both groups enjoyed significantly more in live interaction and reported similar level of anxiety across conditions. Limitations: Some of our participants in the ASC group were self-diagnosed – however, further analysis where these participants were excluded showed the same results. Recruiting participants over online platforms may attract people who are generally keen to participate in a social interactive experiments, including a potential bias in our sample. Future work should investigate this question in a sample recruited via diverse sources (e.g. schools). Conclusions: These findings strongly advocate for a distinction between learning about the social versus learning via the social: models of ASC should be revisited to consider social interaction not just as a puzzle to de-code, rather a medium through which people, including neuro-diverse groups, experience the world around them. Trail registration: Part of this work has been pre-registered before data collection https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5PGA3