Does any of you attend a support group?

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I saw a psychologist today who strongly advised me to join some kind of AS support group...But I soon realized that in our country support groups isn't big! I phoned the one in our town and she said that they are not active...just share info regarding workshops exct.

Does any of you attend a support group? Is this helpfull? What do you do there, what do you gain from it?

Ok...so you guys are stuck with me! I gain so much support and info just being part of this forum.......Thanx

Yes there are 2 groups I go to as being an adult on the spectrum it helps to talk with others like yourself and to socialize with others like yourself and not have to put on an act and feel like you are being judged by others because you are different and act differently-when you are an adult on the spectrum its difficult to even find help professionally as everything is available to those under 18 but it seems when a person turns 18 they are instantly all cured and it is felt that they need no more help-which is not true-a 17 year old on the spectrum becomes an 18 year old person on the spectrum.

I have inquired about this very same topic on this site before and evidently support groups for parents of kids with ASDs are not big anywhere, at least among the parents who frequent this site. This forum is great but I would also really like to have some face time with people who share my experiences. Support groups for other types of problems (Al-Anon comes to mind) are EXTREMELY helpful for their members. I have a personal goal to try and get something started in the town where I live, mainly so other parents know that they are not alone.

A common theme I hear expressed on this site is a feeling of desparate struggling in isolation. I also hear a lot of relief from people who arrive here after struggling alone for some time. This is a GREAT place so if it's all you have, you know you can come here and get advice, empathy, ears to vent to...

Check Meetup.com, it's one place where we've found lots of resources. I do go to a support group, and there's one for husbands as well. You can tailor the search to meet your specific needs, and if there isn't one in your area, you can start one! We just get together for coffee while the kids are in school, and the Dads get together after work over drinks.

Also, check with your local Autism Society and see if they have anything listed; I've noticed that Autism Speaks, despite sometimes being at cross-purposes, sometimes has listing for groups.

There is a group locally but I've never gone ... I think. I communicate better in an environment like this, that can cast a much broader (albeit less personal) net. I am really more an information / ideas gal than a shoulder to cry on gal.

The town I live in caters more to children and parents of children on the spectrum, but there is only one support group for Adults on the spectrum. And that meets once a month, for one hour only. Recently the woman who runs it has been encouraging us to attend a lunch meeting at a local restaurant that is usually pretty quiet. so that gives us adult Aspies two chances to meet each month.

We have a parents' drop-in / information session at our local autism centre. It's great. The centre also has a great lending library and helpful staff members who provide support and information.
J.

My parents never went to any speficaly for HFA or AS. All of the ones they could find were for parents of severely affected kids. I think they turned out okay. I used to think they were going to get divorced by the time I turned 13 but I'm 24 and they are still married. I think both my parents have undiagnosed AS. Oh sure there's probably a genetic componient but I was adopted. My mom says she's never liked to make eye contact and I can't remember either one of my parents ever being eye contact nazis. The best thing my parents ever did for me was to get me out of the tourcher chamber public school and homeschool me and let me follow my special intrests and obsessions. It probably would have helped if they acknoledged my feelings more often, but hey, you can't have everything.

I'm thinking of starting a support group next year......don't know if this is a hard thing to do? I'll see how I feel emotionally next year...

There are several groups that meet for coffee once a month here. Most of them are too far away or at an inconvenient time for me. I did attend one once, but of the 6 moms there, 4 had non-verbal children and the other two had gone through due-process to get into non-public schools. They had obviously been meeting for years and already knew all about each others kids. It just wasn't a good fit for a new person with a mainstreamed Aspie child to join.

So I decided to start one myself, at a time and place convenient for me. There is a woman here who sends out an email newsletter 2-3 times a week. It is THE place to find out about meetings, lectures, research news, etc. Anyone can send her a post to include, announcing a meeting, asking other parents for recommendations, etc. So every month, I send her my "coffee talk" notice -- I picked the 4th Thursday of the month because no other groups seem to meet the 4th week.

I grab a table and put a little sign on it that says "ASD Coffee Talk" so people can find me. Usually I get 4-6 people, and the interesting thing is that over the course of 8 months it has been a different group every time. Everyone says how great it was and exchanges emails, and then I never hear from them again. There have been a couple of people who came twice, but no one has consistently joined me. It's a little frustrating, because I would like to get to know some people so we're not constantly starting from zero every time.