Concerns re. AS youth group

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There is a local gaming group for teenagers and children with Asperger's/autism. Either tomorrow or in a month, I may go.
I really don't know what to expect, which makes me very nervous. I'm already nervous and have frequent stomach aches because of an application (I'm applying to college so I can get out of high school) for which I will not know the results until mid-next month, and this only adds to the stress.

Has anybody here ever been to an Asperger's group? If so, what was it like? I enjoy speaking with my friend who has AS more than speaking with anybody else, but he and I speak primarily via instant message. Face to face communication is difficult for both of us. I want to be accepted, but I'm worried both that the face to face aspect of the group will diminish communication, and that my status as a female-bodied person will cause me to be treated differently.

One last thing is that I have never been diagnosed with AS. I have found much value and been well assisted by resources for autism-spectrum individuals, but my family does not have very much money and hasn't made use of our state's free health care for youth in financial need. A diagnosis would, therefore, be exorbinantly costly and - as I am not concerned with self-labeling as I was in my earlier adolescence - unnecessary. It doesn't state on the website whether or not the group is exclusive to adolescents who have been professionally diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder. I realize that nobody here could have a definite answer as to whether I would be allowed to attend, but it's another concern of mine.

i sure wish there were such a group out here in the sticks where i live.

I went to a few meetings in my town. I think the other people there enjoyed it. But it was just a bit too AA for me. Like, there wasn't much socializing or getting to know my fellow Aspies on a remotely personal level, just talking about 'hi, my name is X and I'm an Asperger" "Hi X!" and then they'd talk about, well social skills so basic that I lost interest and started wondering how I was going to beat my latest Civ game halfway through. Half the group were in university or had pretty good jobs, the others were very low functioning or very young and would talk about the different models of trains for hours. To be honest I felt a bit alienated as I couldn't really connect with anyone very well. I think not all are like that, this was a group that was meeting for the first time. So it all felt a bit rough and ripped off from AA. Someone I know tells me it's changed a lot but people say that all the time when it's not true, so I don't know I can trust her

I went to an autism youth meeting thing in my area but it sucked. Most of the people there had more severe autism and I just didn't get along with them.

However, I suggest you go to yours - you could end up meeting some cool people, and there's no reason not to try it out.

Well... as I said, I really hope this works out. Given that the group is oriented toward young people (eight-eighteen,) I have hopes that it'll be less of a meeting and more of a space to be with people I like. Most people just seem to irritate/frighten me endlessly, because they confuse me. It may not be that my best friend is my best friend because he has Asperger's, but if there's any chance I could find others like him...

This rant is probably coming from the bad school day I've had. Asp-Z, might I mention that I really like both your avatar and your signature? For differing reasons, of course.

Easily distracted... but enough about me: this meeting seems targeted more toward people with Asperger's, so I think I have more of a chance of enjoying it.

We shall see. Thank you all for input.

They have a monthly meeting at the big college where I live, and it's just a bunch of AS kids playing Uno and stuff, or whatever else. Not my thing, because I don't like group meetings. I'm more of a one on one kind of person.