Autism Support Group

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Hi Everyone I'm Planning On Starting An Autism Support Group For Teens And Adults In My Community In Order To Help My Social Skills As Well As Others And To Just Create A Place Where People On The Spectrum Can Be Themselves And Just Have Fun. My Experience With Support Groups Is Mostly Just Talking Which Just Irritates Me As Sitting And Talking To Someone For An Hour Or So Is Boring And I Thought That Others Like Me Might Feel The Same So In My Support Group I Want It To Be More Fun And Hands On, Truthfully It's Going To Be More Of A Friendly Get Together But I Need A Bit Of Advice. I Plan To Have It So When People First Come In Anyone Who Has Anything The Want To Talk About Can Do So Then, Afterwards Depending On The Day We'll Play Video Or Board Games, Watch A Movie, Or Do An Arts And Crafts Project, We'll Also Have Snacks, If Someone Doesn't Want To Do The Current Main Activity That's Completely Fine, There Will Be No Strict Rules And If Someone Wants To Do A Puzzle Or A Couple People Want To Play A Game Instead Of Watching A Movie That's Great, I Want This To Be A Place That Is Comfortable. My Problem Is These Are Activities That I Like But I Don't Know What Types Of Things Are Fun To Others, I Would Very Much Appreciate Any Suggestions Anyone Has, What Would You All Like To Do At Something Like This? What Types Of Games,Movies, Or Activities Do You Like? How Would You Make It More Comfortable? What Accommodations Should I Have To Help Others Feel More Comfortable? I'm 20 Years Old And I Like Kid Stuff And Activities But I Don't Want To Make Other People Feel Like I'm Treating Them Like A Kid Because Of The Activities I Choose, I'm Really Excited About This And Don't Want To Mess It Up So I'd Love To Hear Any And All Ideas

It depends ... which part of the state? Rural, suburban, or urban? Lower or upper peninsula? Are you near any universities?

I grew up in Michigan, so I have some familiarity with the people and culture there.

I Live In The Lower Peninsula, I Live In A Small Town But People Coming Will Most Likely Be From Saginaw County.

Yes, you do. Which part of Michigan?

The Lansing area has the University and games stores, that may be willing to host such a group. Churches near Ishpeming and Traverse City may do so, as well. Places like Ann Arbor, Detroit, and Marshall may not be so accomodating.

I like your idea. I think it could be fun!

I think it's a fantastic idea. When people start to come they can say what their interests are and then maybe you can have different nights or stations where people can showcase and share their interests and have others learn about them.

I want to revive this topic because I want the same thing. I also live in a University town but in Illinois. I'd like my group to be 17+ because I'm an adult and want to meet others on the spectrum socially. I've run a support group before and feel I could utilize those principles and rules for my group as well. I've spoken with someone who runs an on-line support group who said they used to meet in person but had a problem with some of the members stalking. I don't know how to approach that potential problem besides just putting it in the rules. I'd like to see the group legitimized but am not sure how to do that aside from perhaps having a social worker or Psychologist attend. That would be more like group therapy though and I'm not really looking for more therapy. I want it to be laid back. Another problem is attendance. Being an Autistic support group my odd personality would be understood but the last group I ran (for infertility so nothing to do at all with Autism) had very low attendance because I would get stressed trying to keep a conversation going and they would never come back. It was very disheartening. Any tips or ideas?