Portland Oregon Support Group for Adults with Asperger Syndrome: HomeQuoted From: https://aasapdx.org/
"We are a collaborative, peer-facilitated support group run by and for late-diagnosed mature autistic (ASD) adults who live in or who have recently moved to the Portland, Oregon metro area. While we are not a therapy group, through our discussion process and with the assistance of occasional "outside" presenters we help members with personal and adult-to-adult issues. For example, we routinely address concerns related to housing, access to community resource providers and agencies, employment and adult relationships. Because other Portland metropolitan groups and community services accommodate persons with child behavior, parenting, and intensive personal support needs, in our monthly three-hour meetings we do not have the capacity to address these needs.
Our group provides a safe environment for confidential discussions, presentations, discussion-based workshops, and potluck social events. We range in age from the young adults to the mid-seventies. We work in tandem with the Dorks on Parade, a social group for adults along the autism spectrum and the Portland Asperger"s Network (PAN) a group helping families affected by autism or Asperger syndrome. We are not primarily a social activities group. We provide assistance to mature adults towards addressing the challenges of living with autism and achieving their goals.
Our group is for adults whose primary diagnosis is ASD individuals. We require direct contact from persons interested in attending our meetings. If you have a professionally conferred diagnosis or are self-diagnosed, we invite you to learn more about the group to see if the group might fit your expectations.
How do we operate?
We are a self-governing and self-supporting group. We set our own agendas, maintain our own communications, and run our own meetings and activities. In the past, we have held annual planning sessions to map out our calendar for the next twelve months. At our planning meeting we identify topics for facilitated large and small-group discussions, training, presentations by "outside providers and experts" and social activities. Through large-group brainstorming and discussion we encourage all group members to propose topics and activities, and then we "vote in" ideas with the greatest popularity and assign them to future dates in our calendar. Items that "don"t make the calendar" still can come up and be covered in future meetings.
We arrive at decisions about the major focus of our monthly meeting by consensus. If something has happened of general interest in between meetings that require attention "out of order" we may substitute that item or issue for discussion, but then move the regularly calendared topic or activity into a future meeting.
When we can, we hold picnics and outings to places of special interest. Depending on interest, members can ask about trying their hand at co-facilitation of smaller discussion groups and skill workshops
The meeting place is a safe environment. We do not allow threatening or intimidating behavior. Occasionally we open meetings to the Portland autism community and even the non-autistic general public. We announce these events well in advance so that regularly attending members who prefer their meeting experience to consist only of members already admitted to the group to plan for alternative use of their time.
We deal immediately with any conflict or misunderstandings as they arise. No unresolved issues should remain by the end of the meeting. In the case of major disagreement, we can offer private mediation. We operate by consensus and rules of common courtesy."
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