AS support groups-importance of verbal communication skills?

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In a discussion-based support group for people with AS, how important do you think verbal communication skills would be?

I mean just the bare bones of verbal communication skills--the ability to speak and understand words with literal meanings for the purposes of exchanging information and gaining/seeking understanding?

I'm thinking about attending one meeting of a support group because I'd like to meet other people with ASDs (in person) and do something social.....but I'm not very good at talking to people--particularly groups of people. I'm not very good at ordinary verbal communication, actually. (Written communication is one thing...verbal communication is something very different.)

I'm sure I'd understand at least some of whatever people said (not sure how much--anything from "fragments" to "large parts of"), and might be able to say something every now and then...but my experiences of conversation are, more often than not, like drowning (drowning in words) because I can't understand what others are saying, and/or I'm totally unable to find words to use for authentic communication (meaning words that aren't echolalic or scripted+utterly meaningless, yet appropriate-sounding).

Does it strike you as ridiculous for a person who has trouble communicating verbally to join a support group, or is it common enough for people with AS to have trouble communicating verbally that it seems like it wouldn't matter? I'm really just interested in other people's opinions, thoughts, comments (so feel free to ignore my specific question about "ridiculous-ness").

I've been to 2 meetings with a support group in a pub. I found I was a lot more functioning than people there e.g. no-one works and I do and I have a much higher level of education. On the other hand they chatted much better than I did and included me so I had no problems. There may be some kind of facilitator there to introduce you, perhaps without AS. As it is an AS group you would expect others to have the same difficulties so I'm not sure it would be an issue.

Thanks for sharing your experience and thoughts about this.

After reading your post, it struck me how worrying about stuff inside my head (personal things related to my experience) seems to make me forget what I know about other people, until somebody else points it out to me. (It's like I can't combine knowledge about myself with general knowledge or knowledge about other people....there isn't enough room in my brain or something.) Specifically, I forgot about the fact that everybody with AS is different and has different areas of strength and weakness (just like people without AS)...If I had been able to think about that and think about myself at the same time, maybe rational thought would have led me to guess that the variety of problems and strengths that people with AS have would increase the likelihood that my communication issues wouldn't be a problem, because a support group would ideally be all about accepting and "supporting" people as they are--like with the support group you, it sounds like.