4 Years of Square Pegs (Seattle Meetup)

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So this month will be the 4 year anniversary of my Aspie meetup group, the Square Peg Social Club. It's been an interesting trip, in the beginning it was literally 3 or 4 people sitting around a table discussing our AS issues, while now we have hundreds of members and multiple satellite groups and large social gatherings with food and drinks and drama. We definitely had a few changes of focus, some challenges, a few disappointments and a lot of learning experiences.

Strangely, the most successful change was simply making everyone stand up one time to rearrange the tables and chairs. We'd been using a round table format, but we had too many people for our table one night and asked everyone to stand up while we moved the furniture. Much to our surprise, no one sat back down and people chatted and circulated like it was a nerdy cocktail party. Ever since, we've functioned as a support through socializing group; people on the spectrum really tend to be isolated, and just meeting other Aspies is very comforting for many people.

The informal format also allows me and the event host to show off our kitchen skills a bit, as we provide enough food to feed everyone and encourage guests to bring side dishes and beverages. The meal often provides a sort of ice breaker for people, they get food and sit down and conversations start very naturally. The fact that we also provide beer and wine probably help too...

Anyway, any Western Washington area Aspies ought to check us out; in addition to the Seattle meeting we have satellite groups in Des Moines, Olympia, and Snohomish, a lady's night in Seattle, a discussion group in Seattle, and various other events. I'm (still) working on a separate website to better coordinate all the meetings, and am trying to put together some larger summer gatherings for when the weather is nicer and we can reserve parks for a BBQ or something. We always have a presence at most of the Autism events in the area, but as they are mostly focused on children and parents I would like to do an event specifically for adult Aspies and their friends and family.

http://www.meetup.com/Squarepegs/

(anyone wanting info on organizing an AS meetup can PM me here on WP or ask questions in this thread; no promises about timely answers though... )

We're doing our 4 year anniversary this Saturday, Chicken Cordon Bleu and accompaniments are on the menu!

http://www.meetup.com/Squarepegs/events/54231182/