Asperger's Meeting

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I went to my first social Asperger's meeting yesterday. There were about 20 people there. I didn't feel like I fit in at all. Most of the people seemed very dorky to me (no offense), except a couple.

One girl was moving her wheeled chair alot, and also talked to herself in front of me.
I rock, but in the privacy of my home....and not all the time.

Another guys was picking nose for like 10 minutes off & on. I had to leave. I guess my AS is more mild; however, is this typical of Asperger's?

Thanks.

I've thought about trying to go to an AS group, and there's one near me, but I haven't been, so I don't have an answer to your question. But I do wonder whether it isn't easier to interact with NTs: that way at least one person in the conversation knows how to keep it going!

sometimes it takes so much effort to act "normal" that in a few particular settings where we feel comfortable we may show more autistic features than in other situations in faact more features than we may actually have if we didnt try to act normal

How would you perceive me, if I was sitting in that meeting, wearing one of my band shirts, with my drum sticks, in my left hand? Just wondering.

20 people sounds like a really large group! It seems like too many people to actually get anything useful accomplished. The group I attend has about 6-9 of us each meeting. Even with a group the size of mine, the person running the meeting has to play monologue police so the entire meeting isn't wasted on one person talking about their interest (we don’t all care about some wrestling thing that happened 10 years ago ).

Was the group for all ASD's or just Asperger's? Is a diagnosis required to attend? My group is only for diagnosed Aspies. People interested in attending have to meet with the counselor that runs the meeting before they are invited too. Maybe that sounds bad to some people, but I think it's for the best. The problems I experience are those of someone on the high functioning end of the spectrum. The reason I go is to discuss my issues with people who have similar problems.

The person running the group has also saved us from having to deal with some people that would have been very destructive to our group. I don’t think a “cmon in, everyone is welcome” approach is good for having a successful group. People with “other issue” that they think are AS (but it isn’t) can actually be very damaging to the AS group or individuals. An example would be someone who is narcissistic or something, and also enjoys messing with people for fun, could cause serious damage.

I've been thinking about going to an AS meeting, have been for awhile. Anyway what I was going to say is what others have said to me, I apparently look and act, when you first meet me, very normal. It is not until you really really get to know me that it sticks out that I have AS.

So your not alone Negolin

I have begun going to meetings here in West Virginia. We are planning quite a few events and talks for the local community and nearby colleges to promote awareness, as well as planning opportunities to advocate for people on the spectrum...

Now... I also have a similar problem with appearing NT when those who tend to get involved in Asperger's meeting are quite obviously disabled. I am actually the only person like me there. At first I felt very out of place because I function so well. The others have no social skills or they communicate poorly, and/or get overwhelmed very easily. But my abilities just mean that I can take on more a leadership role in speaking for us and them as well as in general organization.

So, don't be discouraged if you attend meetings and you feel out of place because you seem to function better than the others attending. The public needs to be aware that those of us who may be more articulate and those who can socialize are sometime ALSO what autism looks like. We are not stereotypes. We NEED more people who can speak publicly and who can organize events!

i went to my first one, in olympia [state capitol] a few weeks back. the organizer and i were the only ones who bothered to show. it was interesting. i believe the organizer was a more effective human being than me. he did most of the conversing, and i did most of the listening, which is the normal situation with me. i'm a much better listener than a talker. and if he is reading this now, i want him to know that he is a good guy, and that i am thankful to him for setting the meeting up in a place that was easy for me to attend.

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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.