I am letting go of a gathering of like minds, a group that I created eighteen years ago. A place where people with autism and their loved ones could gather for friendship, solidarity, comfort, compassion and lots of fun. It started out as a question, and a search for others who may have the answer, and blossomed into a community of 1,400 people online and over 100 in person who met monthly. The platform we used was Meetup.com and it served us well over the years. We watched our children make friends and grow up with one another, attending playdates, karate classes, anime conventions, and gatherings of their own choosing. It was wonderful to have parents to talk to who were experiencing a similar journey to my own.

I was able to manage the group as a stay at home mom, but when I found myself working full time, I had little energy left to arrange and attend meetings. I had volunteers who helped, but as their children grew up and moved on, so did they. A new group of volunteers was scarce, and I no longer had the ability to manage the groups on my own. Today I sent out a message to all members, in search of a new organizer. My hope is that one will step forward, but if that doesn’t happen, Meet Up will close the group. I encouraged everyone to join the Autism Society of Texas if they weren’t already a member, so they could still participate in a community.

The Austin Asperger’s Support Group is a source of pride for me; I was driven by love and a desire to be the best mom I could be, and that enabled me to step out of my comfort zone and become more social than I ever had been before. I look back on that time and wonder how I did it, because I am much more of an introvert today. It’s possible I was manic when I started the group, but it’s just as likely that my motivation to learn all I could from other people in similar circumstances was compelling enough to override my social anxiety. Maybe it was a little of both. In any case, it was an achievement I am thankful for, that I close a chapter on, that served many people well while it was in existence.