New Nas social group for Adults in Ladbroke Grove, London.

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The National Autistic Society
LADBROKE GROVE AUTISM CENTRE

THE TUESDAY ADULTS DAYTIME SOCIAL GROUP.

A social group for adults during the daytime every Tuesday, to learn social skills and explore our lives. Starting September.

ARE YOU OVER 18?

ARE YOU ON THE AUTISTIC SPECTRUM?

HOWS LIFE?

DO YOU WANT TO EXPLORE WHAT IT IS TO BE WHAT YOU ARE?

DO YOU WANT TO MEET OTHERS OF YOUR KIND?

CAN YOU ATTEND EVERY TUESDAY?

DO YOU WANT TO DEVELOP SOCIAL SKILLS, COMMUNICATION AND EXPLORE WHERE YOU GO RIGHT AND WRONG WITH PEOPLE?

WANT TO BE TUTORED BY HIGH FUNCTIONING AUTISTIC ADULTS WHO ARE MARRIED, GROWN AND HAVE JOBS, CAREERS AND HOMES? (EVERYTHING PEOPLE LIKE US ARENT SUPPOSED TO?)

DO YOU WANT HOPE FOR THE FUTURE? HOW ABOUT GETTING A GRIP ON THE PRESENT?
My name is Paul Wady and I have worked for the National Autistic Society for two and a half years so far. I am making a career out of representing and working for and with my own kind. Diagnosed in my forties I have done a few things in my life, and have been a member of social groups for nearly 4 years now, where I met my wife Elizabeth who will be working with us as well.

Autistic men and women, happy and healthy and functioning and able. Guest speakers and workshops with people I will bring in, or just plain ongoing work on ourselves. (Or not. It is a social group.)

The centre has a kitchen, a dining room, sofa’s and a meeting/conference room. Toilets and secure environment. ‘Meltdown’ spaces available.

The new Ladbroke Grove Autism centre is the first facility of its kind in London. Deliberately designed as an ‘Aspie safe house’, here we can be ourselves and develop as people, safely. Who are we?, what are we? What are we going to become?


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE IN THIS NEW GROUP?
WHAT CONTENT, ACTIVITIES, ANYTHING! LET ME KNOW.

IS THIS A GOOD DAY FOR A SOCIAL GROUP?

IF SO, WHAT TIME OF THE DAY IS GOOD? WE COULD SCHEDULE IT MORNING, AFTERNOON OR EVENING.

[email protected]


ALL AUTISTIC/ASPERGERS PEOPLE WELCOME.

(Attendance strictly by appointment first. Behaviour must be contained. Melt down rooms/spaces available for use if you need them. We’ve all been there. Address, directions and map available upon contact. )



[email protected]

Website www.autism.org.uk

Telephone 020 8962 9610

It is an interesting idea but I'm not sure I could attend every Tuesday during the day. I would recon most people would want it in the evening, and I'm more flexible than most.

I wouldn't say I've made it by any stretch, but I have made a fair bit of progress. So I can also see the appeal to having this 'safe house'.

I’ve also been involved in social meets. I've organised and been to some here and another support group for anxiety. Both formal/regular and informal on offs. I found in general that some of the formal regular ones can slightly more elitist, but not necessarily.

I think there is a balance to be made between a safe place and a challenge. That kind balance varies from person to person. That can be a problem. I once co-ran an art club.
I think two opposing possible reasons it didn't last:

a) Although we managed to get a free vacant space, which was out of the way, they might not have felt ‘safe’ there. Ironically some of the most difficult places for some people like a pub, they’d still rather go there than somewhere unknown, because it is familiar to them.
b) We didn’t really focus on the social side. It was just a place were people could sit in quiet and do whatever art they wanted.

Informal meets have been invaluable to me. Basically I wouldn’t have achieved reciprocal friendship (my first real friends) without taking that challenge. I used to think I knew what I did right but now I’m not so sure. It dawned on me just recently, that although I have known them going on 3 years I have surprisingly little in common with them other then similar humour and the fact we have anxiety. Regardless they are both very accommodating of me, and me of them.

However I’m still lacking some skills, and I might benefit from interacting in a more controlled environment to work on that. I’m pretty clueless when it comes to relationships. However I do know from experience that much behaviour is inherent / instinctual. So it doesn’t stop people from speaking contrary, even if they are very willing to give advice. Fact is often people just aren’t aware of how their behaviour works. It is not as if you can get better advice off an ‘NT’, etc. We understand very little about our animal behaviour, us humans.

I’m not sure I’d want to sit through hours of social lectures or life stories, although I’m guilty as charged in that respect and it can be useful to hear other people experiences once in a while.

I do believe the key is in the doing, just simply having a social place to go. You can’t do miracles so forget that, I wouldn’t want to change everything anyway, and can only go at my own pace. But just simply interacting in a manageable but changing way can help, I think.


One thing I want to ask is, could people use this centre for their own social interests/activities within the context of the wider group, particularly make use of certain facilities? I like cooking ever so often, it was really important to me to have the opportunity to do that for my friends as I’ never really had the opportunity to do something like that. I have poor executive so I don’t cook all the time (In fact I barely look after myself, and forget to eat often), but it is one practical thing I can do socially. I think having a centre like this to do it in would suit people more as people might not feel comfortable inviting people they don’t know in their homes, or have no space anyway.

I understand these are niches, but one size doesn’t fit all. These sort of things could be valuable are they are part of real life too.

If I were to attend, I would prefer afternoons or early evening, certainly not much past 9pm due to travelling at night, especially in the winter.