Asperger's Meeting

Page 2 of 3 [ 39 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next

Previous topic | Next topic

Surfman
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 1 Aug 2010
Age: 63
Gender: Male
Posts: 3,938
Location: Homeward bound

15 Mar 2011, 12:22 am

I ended up in conflict with someone who kept jabbering on at me, and have not been back

auntblabby
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,219
Location: the island of defective toy santas

15 Mar 2011, 10:20 am

Verdandi wrote:

There's a meeting in Olympia? I live in Thurston County.

yes, the first saturday of each month at 1pm, for now in the capitol mall, in front of the "best buy" entrance in the food court. should you decide to give us a try, i am the long-haired tall geeky looking one. i recently lopped some of it off but it is still long.

Verdandi wrote:

Ohshi- meeting people. I don't know if this is the right thing to do at all. :oops:

i have all the faith in the world that you will do alright, should you deign to meet with us. i for one would look forward to seeing you there.

anbuend
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 5 Jul 2004
Age: 45
Gender: Female
Posts: 5,039

15 Mar 2011, 10:25 am

Bloodheart wrote:

This is what worries me about attending the local group.

I would have said I passed as an NT a few years ago, now I am defiantly AS but still 'normal' enough to get along with NT's - I think if I had been in a group like yours I would have walked out too, there's no point in going if the other members aren't like you...fact is as much as we may all want all people on the spectrum to be accepted, people are different and so there needs to be similarities to get on and get something out of a social get together.

I've found that what I have in common with another autistic person has nothing at all to do with how well they pass for NT. There's such a thing as judging people on appearances and losing track of similarities because of the most visible differences. I would have missed out on a lot if I only looked for people like me among people who didn't pass for NT at all That's simply not my main attribute of autism, it's an appearance, nothing more.

_________________
"In my world it's a place of patterns and feel. In my world it's a haven for what is real. It's my world, nobody can steal it, but people like me, we live in the shadows." -Donna Williams

League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,317
Location: Pacific Northwest

15 Mar 2011, 10:47 am

Of all the AS groups I have been too, everyone came off as normal except a very few people. I guess we are all either mild or all high functioning. I also see ironic things about these groups, socializing for one and at one of them we were put into groups to make posters. And they say we are bad at team work and I have always hated groups, always had a hard time with them and it was ironic it happened at an autism group.

Morgana
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 20 Sep 2008
Age: 65
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,524
Location: Hamburg, Germany

15 Mar 2011, 3:44 pm

anbuend wrote:

Good post.

_________________
"death is the road to awe"

kfisherx
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 3 Nov 2010
Age: 62
Gender: Female
Posts: 1,192

15 Mar 2011, 3:48 pm

League_Girl wrote:

Roger's meeting breaks into groups each and every month. Somehow we do better in tables of 5-8 people.

Verdandi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Dec 2010
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,275
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)

15 Mar 2011, 4:14 pm

auntblabby wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

There's a meeting in Olympia? I live in Thurston County.

I know exactly where you mean. I happen to like the Philly Cheesesteak place there if it still exists.

auntblabby wrote:

i have all the faith in the world that you will do alright, should you deign to meet with us. i for one would look forward to seeing you there.

I'm not really that socially anxious, new situations and schedule additions just make me initially nervous. Given time to get used to the idea, it's easier to assimilate. My main issue is transportation.

Verdandi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Dec 2010
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,275
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)

15 Mar 2011, 4:17 pm

anbuend wrote:

Given that it was your blog that convinced me of the possibility I was autistic in the first place, yeah. Superficial similarities strike me as meaningless.

I've seen a lot of people here on this forum compare notes and discuss substantial similarities in how they process things or experience social situations - people have described events from their lives that I could have duplicated nearly word for word. And yet the superficial presentation runs the gamut despite these more relevant similarities.

wavefreak58
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 26 Sep 2010
Age: 68
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,419
Location: Western New York

15 Mar 2011, 4:22 pm

I've attended a group twice now. It's still feeling really awkward. There is a range of traits and deficits and it was jarring to see what I might look like to others. I've developed a pretty good facade that doesn't freak people out, but I'm pretty dorky.

Unless I'm surfing.

Then I'm all wet.

Another problem is the intention of the group. The one I'm going to seems to be less about support and more just a place to hang out in a non-judgmental environment. I personally would like more support and less group, but it's not my place to set the terms of engagement.

_________________
When God made me He didn't use a mold. I'm FREEHAND baby!
The road to my hell is paved with your good intentions.

Jonsi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 31 Dec 2010
Age: 34
Gender: Male
Posts: 4,219

15 Mar 2011, 4:29 pm

I would be open to going to one of these meetings but I likely wouldn't enjoy myself. I don't relate well to most people with AS, ironically.

League_Girl
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 4 Feb 2010
Gender: Female
Posts: 27,317
Location: Pacific Northwest

15 Mar 2011, 6:19 pm

kfisherx wrote:

League_Girl wrote:

Roger's meeting breaks into groups each and every month. Somehow we do better in tables of 5-8 people.

I didn't know that was a group, I thought it was just sitting at tables and there aren't any projects we are doing. I was thinking of more of doing a project. But if it's just discussing things, I find that better. We are just sitting and taking turns speaking. It's no different doing it with family or friends when you are all together and talking.

auntblabby
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,219
Location: the island of defective toy santas

15 Mar 2011, 7:53 pm

Verdandi wrote:

Given time to get used to the idea, it's easier to assimilate. My main issue is transportation.

if you are not afraid of me, i'd be willing to drive you there.

Verdandi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Dec 2010
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,275
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)

15 Mar 2011, 8:15 pm

auntblabby wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

Given time to get used to the idea, it's easier to assimilate. My main issue is transportation.

if you are not afraid of me, i'd be willing to drive you there.

Definitely a plan worthy of consideration. No fears.

MichaelDWhite
Tufted Titmouse

Joined: 8 Feb 2011
Gender: Male
Posts: 48

15 Mar 2011, 8:15 pm

I went to my first AS support group meeting two years ago and my first thought was "I am nothing like these people". I sat down next to the most "normal" looking person I could find and it turned out we had a lot in common. I've met with this group every month since then and I've come to find that although there are superficial differences, on the whole I fit in better with this group than any other social group I've been a part of. I realize now that I can't judge people on how they appear in public because I really don't know how I appear to the world my self.

auntblabby
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 12 Feb 2010
Gender: Male
Posts: 115,219
Location: the island of defective toy santas

15 Mar 2011, 8:46 pm

Verdandi wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

Given time to get used to the idea, it's easier to assimilate. My main issue is transportation.

if you are not afraid of me, i'd be willing to drive you there.

Definitely a plan worthy of consideration. No fears.

i'm glad of that.

ok, i will try to send you a link when the next meetup is advertised.

Verdandi
Veteran
Veteran

Joined: 7 Dec 2010
Age: 56
Gender: Female
Posts: 12,275
Location: University of California Sunnydale (fictional location - Real location Olympia, WA)

15 Mar 2011, 9:13 pm

auntblabby wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

auntblabby wrote:

Verdandi wrote:

Given time to get used to the idea, it's easier to assimilate. My main issue is transportation.

if you are not afraid of me, i'd be willing to drive you there.

Definitely a plan worthy of consideration. No fears.

i'm glad of that.

ok, i will try to send you a link when the next meetup is advertised.

Great, thank you.

I'll set an alert to remind me to PM you about a week before, just in case.

Page 2 of 3 [ 39 posts ] Go to page Previous 1, 2, 3 Next

Jump to:

Asperger's Meeting Post Reply New Topic

Asperger's Meeting