I think one of the hardest things about being autistic is feeling isolated and alone. It can be so hard to find ‘your people’, or at least that’s how it is for me. And it’s weird, like, maybe its because I can mask a bit, or something, but I get on with lots of people! I do! Maybe they think I’m a little odd, but I have fun conversations with people..but turning that into a friendship, having someone to call..I don’t seem to form the deep connections I want. I’d love a best friend.
They aren’t necessarily always a perfect solution, but online peer support groups can be a really nice way of connecting with others, and even if you don’t find a best friend, I always value chatting with others, especially people who understand, sharing experiences, getting advice. So, today I thought I’d share some of the online autism groups I know!
National Autistic Society’s Online Branches – the National Autistic Society have lots of in-person groups, but they also have their online branches. There’s one for runners, an arts and crafts one, an LGBTQ+ one and a book club one! These are all run by autistic volunteers and are generally more informal and relaxed
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/branches/online
SWAN – SWAN are a charity supporting autistic women in Scotland. I am not in Scotland, but my friend highly recommends the online groups they run! They have lots of different ones and are a bit more formal than the ones by NAS, but still run by autistic volunteers. You have to book these in advance and places are limited.
swanscotland.org/services-and-events
SCOPE – Scope are a disability charity. They don’t run an actual online regular support group but there is an online forum, and if you’re part of the network they occasionally have online member events which usually involve speakers sharing their experiences of different disability-related issues, and you can connect with people through those
www.scope.org.uk/membership
Ambitious About Autism’s Peer Network – if you’re under 25, you can join Ambitious About Autism’s youth network, and they run twice weekly online sessions playing games and such. These groups are run by the charity’s staff and there are under 18s, and it can feel a bit structured – also note the charity’s staff may not have lived experience themselves
ambitious-youth-network.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk
Please note these groups do not cost any money to join! They also all strive to be inclusive and in my experience do not mind cameras off, microphones off, just using chat, etc!
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