Aspergers/Autism support groups and social classes

[Droopy]

Has anyone attended an Aspergers/Autism group or joined social skills classes? What are your experiences if you have? Did they benefit you?

 

[BruceCM]

Sure, a local AS 'support' group. Person running it says 'positive' is all about attitude & that can never, then, be discussed. Same as anywhere else. Most Aspies don't know what I'm on about most of the time, either!

 

[. . .]

I haven't.

I wouldn't mind attending one, but it would be solely to meet fellow aspies. There likely are groups around here for people on the spectrum, but I can't see myself joining any of them as I highly doubt I'd get anything out of them. I'm sure they could benefit some people, but I'm the type of person who can't be helped with this kind of therapy. I consider these groups as being a type of "therapy" because they're meant to be therapeutic to the people who attend them. However, all they'd do to me is make me nervous and I wouldn't like the work they'd make me do.

Personally, I think the best way to gain better social skills is to immerse yourself around people; you just have to find the strength to force yourself to do this. Being around fellow people who lack proper social skills at these classes likely wouldn't help you much, but it would be nice to meet people you could relate to. The tips you'd learn in these classes could be beneficial, but they could easily be acquired from reading books on social skills and how to improve them.

I've actually been to group therapy sessions before for a disorder unrelated to Asperger's (social phobia, to be exact which is what I figured I had before learning about ASDs) and the best thing I got out of the experience was that I got to meet some pretty cool people who I could relate to. What I despised though was the tediousness of the experience. I was forced to do extremely trivial "homework" every week that I, quite frankly, didn't want to do. The questions were inane and highly repetitive. I never looked forward to doing the homework; it didn't benefit me at all.

The strange thing is that the social phobia class initially had maybe 12 members and by the last class there were two or three members other than myself! Not sure what the reason for this was. Perhaps people were too anxious to attend? Or, perhaps they were wary of me ( :lol: )? I showed up to class one day while drunk. It was the holidays and drank with my brother right before attending. I drank, well . . . a lot of vodka - about 20 ounces of it. I'd forgotten that I had class that day but still decided to attend. If I wouldn't have attended, my mother would have flipped out. I'm damn glad that nobody could tell that I was wasted (well, some of them probably could tell, but at least they never said anything).

 

[superboyian]

Never really attended aspergers/autism groups however I have came from a special ed school which did have students having the symptoms since the school was about aspergers/autism and it does after all seem pretty good but at the same time, I didn't really like the school as such since I felt treated as if I was pretty much a young child which is something I didn't quite like about it and the work wise seemed limited to my ability.

But a group however would seem rather interesting to me and I do recall "National Autistic Society" hosting groups like these in the UK, I've never tried it but I was thinking I could try it out but I'm not too sure tbh.

 

[whale_bone]

I'm starting one at my Uni. I dunno. I think it would be a nice to have a safe-space on campus. <<woo-hooo... flap! rock! & roll! to your heart's content!!!>> But I don't want to make it too formal. I'm always monitoring and censoring my behaviour and it's really exhausting. I don't need more of that. I was thinking we could just hang out and do silly things.

But it would be cool if we got more confident we could do workshops with kids in elementary schools. I was talking to a mom of two aspie-hfa twin-girls, and she thought it would be cool if we could like simulate what it's like to get sensory overload to NT kids, kind of explain why meltdowns happen to sensitive people.
HMMMM...
And I have a massive collection of puppets... And I can make pretty fancy ones out of yogurt containers+ pantyhose+ craftiness. Haha maybe my autism club should just be a puppet-making, -mastering club. XD

Or make a documentary!

So many ideas.. no energy.

 

[Billi]

I checked with someone about a group near me for people on the spectrum, and I was told it was really only for kids and their parents. I would love to meet some other aspies IRL, but unless chance puts me somewhere else it doesn't look like that will happen. I won't rule out chance, it seems to happen all the time.

 

[Droopy]

I'm starting one at my Uni. I dunno. I think it would be a nice to have a safe-space on campus. <<woo-hooo... flap! rock! & roll! to your heart's content!!!>> But I don't want to make it too formal. I'm always monitoring and censoring my behaviour and it's really exhausting. I don't need more of that. I was thinking we could just hang out and do silly things.

But it would be cool if we got more confident we could do workshops with kids in elementary schools. I was talking to a mom of two aspie-hfa twin-girls, and she thought it would be cool if we could like simulate what it's like to get sensory overload to NT kids, kind of explain why meltdowns happen to sensitive people.
HMMMM...
And I have a massive collection of puppets... And I can make pretty fancy ones out of yogurt containers+ pantyhose+ craftiness. Haha maybe my autism club should just be a puppet-making, -mastering club. XD

Or make a documentary!

So many ideas.. no energy.

You seem excited! Hope it all goes well for you. If you make any cool puppets at your group, be sure to post some pics on AC.

 

[T. Boczan]

Hello. My name is Taly Boczan. I am new to this forum and wanted to quickly introduce myself. I am a speech language pathologist in the Los Angeles area. My area of expertise is in social skills and I run a variety of social skills groups for school age, and high school age students. We are offering several groups over the summer! If anyone in the L.A. area is interested in finding a social skills program, please let me know.

 

[Geordie]

If I want to break into Hollywood, I'll bring my best Aspie friends along to visit you., Taly.

 

[paloftoon]

Droopy, I've joined many types. Most seem more suitable for younger kids or with young adults attached to their parents. There are groups for independent autistic adults, but they are that much harder to find. If there's an ASAN group near you, that may be your best bet.

 

[AsheSkyler]

I wasn't even aware my state had one until a few days ago when I went looking. Although given where that most autistic focus, support, and groups are located in my home county, I'm dubious about going. I'll probably bump into folks I know or know of, and that county is full of a whole different flavor of weird than I'm comfortable being around. I've never met people like those of the valley and I almost hope I never will again!

 

[ExplosiveTMT]

I was placed into a 'social skills course' a few years back.
It was kind of pointless for me, because I already knew how friendships worked; I just needed a person who would accept me as a friend.
I got to meet other aspies, which was the positive thing about the course. Only shame was that once the course was done, I never saw those guys again. :/

These days my autism support group comes in the form of my friends and this site.

 

[paloftoon]

Sometimes, to find what we are looking for, we must suffer and put up with those things that are in the way, even if it means not receiving what we deserve/earned.