Advice on starting a support group?

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My mother and I are strongly considering starting our own autism/aspergers support group and wanted to know where the best place to start would be if we are to go about doing this. There aren't any groups in our area that we know of and I wanted to know what the best way would be to get the word out and get some interest going. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Mario

I never understood this phenomena and would love to have it explained to me. We Aspies do not generally like to socialize and most of us hate being in groups of strangers. How does a support group offer support to us?

My sentiments exactly. If there was an AS support group down the street from me, I wouldn't go. Its not like its going to change anything. Wrong Planet serves the same purpose as far as I'm concerned.

Its kind of funny, really, the idea of a bunch of Aspies sitting in a room together, stimming, avoiding eye contact and not saying anything.

What country do you operate in?

Thanks for the replies. Pretty much all are saying the same thing and maybe my expectations for a support group are not realistic. But, I've come to a point in my life where I feel the need for a community. I am not looking to change who I am or who anyone else is, just for the possibility to exchange ideas and possibly connect on a more personal level than the internet. As far as I know, the friends that I've made through my interest in movies, attending conventions, working with filmmakers, and writing, do not have this diagnosis. Most of these people live far away and I feel the only connection with them is our shared interest and my expertise in film.

The funny thing about me is, as hard and as awkward as it is for me, I still want to socialize.

I understand what you are saying about feeling awkward and still wanting to socialize to some extent. I am also in this position and hoping to find a way to actually meet with people like myself just to see what it's like and where it goes! I'm sure we'll all go back to our worlds but I still think it could be transformative and empowering.

There is a guy who posts here named KenG who says he has held Autistic parties at his house. Maybe you can ask him. Also, here where I live there is something called "MeetUp" on-line where you can form a group of any kind to meet other like minded individuals. They have Asperger groups in some cities, (not near me) and you can start your own group. Good Luck! Don't give-up!