Thoughts on starting a social skills club at my school?

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Hi everyone, I wanted some input on the idea I had to start a social skills club at my university. For context, I go to one of the only schools in the US that has an entire program dedicated to helping autistic people succeed academically. However, I've noticed that this support does not extend beyond the classroom. As a result, I've noticed that a lot of the noticeably autistic people struggle to make connections despite their efforts.

Part of the reason I'm asking on here is because I don't have an official diagnosis (yet), and I don't want to seem like I'm some kind of neurotypical savior. I'm 99% sure I'm autistic, and the people who I know personally agree.

My goal for the club would essentially be to learn and practice social skills. I thought that this was something everyone had to learn, but apparently not. I've taught myself social skills, mostly through books like Improve Your Social Skills by Daniel Wendler. I was always unable to make or keep friends, and it caused me to have bad depression and terrible self esteem. However, I was able to learn, and even though I'm now much more accepting of wanting to be alone I still know how terrible it is to struggle to make a single friend. I still struggle myself, but I know it's possible and that I can be a good friend. That kind of confidence has helped me a lot in life. I want other people to be able to feel the same way.

Thanks!

I think that a social skills club would be an awesome idea. If there was such a club at my school I'd probably do a lot better, to be honest. One problem is that people could make fun of the club. Happens often.
I'd still go for it though. It's an awesome idea. Very helpful.

Here is a page of mine containing links to tutorials (by a variety of people) on how to start and lead various kinds of groups.

Regarding the idea of a social skills club, I think it's important to distinguish between the following two distinct kinds of social skills:

1) What I call autistic-friendly social skills -- the kinds of skills that we, as autistic people, would need in order to get along with each other even if there were no NT's in the world.

2) Blending in with (culturally mainstream) NT's. This includes things like NT eye contact rhythms and culturally mainstream conversational style.

I would suggest that you focus primarily on category #1. These are the skills that you and your fellow club members -- especially your fellow club officers -- will need in order for your club itself to survive and not drown in interpersonal drama.

Anyhow, you are welcome to attend the next text-based chat meeting of the Autistic Peer Leadership Group, this week Thursday, July 6, at 7:00 PM Eastern (New York City) time. If interested, please RSVP on Meetup.com.