Table 3.

Participation in observation details

Observation Round	Overall Observation Purpose	Specific Observation Objectives	Specific Activities	Observation Location
1st Round	Preliminary clarify the implementation process of parent-led organizations’ loneliness intervention and initially identify key intervention scenarios	1. Master the types and frequency of intervention activities; 2. Identify core stakeholders in activities; 3. Record typical activity links (e.g., activity initiation, on-site organization, post-activity communication)	Outdoor hiking, educational integration activities, social integration activities, art therapy activities, WeChat group daily exchanges, and collective autonomous living	Changchun
2nd Round	1. Capture in-depth the interaction between intervention goals and autistic children’s responses and verify the alignment between activity goals and autistic children’s needs 2. Focus on parent-led organizations’ ‘outings for social interaction outside the home’	1. Interaction frequency between autistic children and others; children’s passivity in parent-driven activities 2. Record autistic children’s social/emotional responses to different activities; 3. Instances of peer interaction or friendship formation among autistic children; reported or witnessed bullying events; and teacher support measures as described by school staff 4. Parent–child communication patterns; Patterns of autistic children’s sustained engagement during ‘Outings for Social Interaction’ activities 5. Track whether intervention activities achieve preset goals (e.g., social integration); 6. Observe parents’ guidance behaviors during activities; 7. Dissemination of the “having a second child for companionship” concept	(1) Pre-outing training: Parents received guidance in a WeChat group on how to prepare their children for interaction (e.g., practicing simple greetings); (2) In-outing support: Volunteers were assigned to each small group (2–3 autistic children) to model positive interaction; (3) Post-outing reflection: Organizations held brief discussions with parents and volunteers to discuss progress in reducing ‘lack of interaction.’	Changchun and Xi’an
3rd Round	Supplement cross-scene comparison data and confirm the consistency of intervention effects across regions	1. Compare activity implementation differences across three cities; 2. Verify the repeatability of autistic children’s responses; 3. Record the impact of the policy environment on intervention activities	All types of intervention activities (focus on cross-city replication activities)	Changchun, Xi’an, and Guangzhou
Summary	Systematically track the whole process of parent-led intervention, verify the implementation of intervention goals, and capture the subjective experience of autistic children/parents in natural scenarios	Integrate three rounds of objectives to form a “process-impact-consistency” observation chain	All types of intervention activities	Three representative cities in China