Autistic Support Group
Group Type: Support Group
Goals of the Group:
- Create a safe and supportive space for autistic individuals.
- Promote sharing of experiences and exploration of challenges.
- Develop self-advocacy skills and build coping strategies.
- Foster a sense of community and reduce isolation.
- Promote self-understanding and acceptance.
Who Is The Group For?
- Autistic individuals seeking a safe space for expression.
- Those wanting to develop social and communication strategies.
- Individuals interested in learning self-regulation techniques.
- People looking to connect with peers who share similar experiences.
Discussion Topics:
- Personal experiences with autism.
- Sensory sensitivities and emotional triggers.
- Social communication challenges.
- Self-regulation techniques.
- Building long-term resilience.
What Will We Talk About?
- Sharing individual experiences with autism.
- Personal goals for the group.
- Neurodiversity and self-acceptance.
- Sensory sensitivities and emotional triggers.
- Self-regulation techniques (e.g., grounding exercises, sensory tools).
- Social communication challenges and strategies.
- Personal growth and experiences throughout the group sessions.
- Creating individualized self-care and coping strategy plans.
- Celebrating group accomplishments and reinforcing resilience.
Glimpse of the Session:
Session 1: Introduction and Building Trust
- Sharing individual experiences with autism.
- Overview of neurodiversity and self-acceptance.
- Establishing confidentiality and trust.
- Homework: Reflect on personal strengths and challenges.
Session 2: Understanding and Managing Sensory and Emotional Challenges
- Exploration of sensory sensitivities and emotional triggers.
- Group discussion on personal experiences with sensory overload.
- Sharing self-regulation techniques.
- Homework: Practice a self-regulation technique.
Session 3: Navigating Social Interactions
- Discussion on social communication challenges.
- Role-playing social scenarios to practice communication strategies.
- Group sharing on setting boundaries and self-advocacy.
- Homework: Try a social strategy discussed in the session.
Session 4: Building Long-Term Resilience
- Reflection on personal growth and experiences.
- Creation of an individualized self-care and coping strategy plan.
- Celebrating group accomplishments.
- Homework: Continue using strategies learned and reflect on long-term goals.
Please note that the session topics, order, and other details may be subject to change based on the needs and preferences of the group members and facilitators.
Facilitator Bio:
Ujjwal Yadav is an integrative psychotherapist offering mental health support for over 11 years to clients with varied psychological difficulties. Her work encapsulates working with neurodiverse population (mild to moderate) for social emotional skills using the CASEL framework, seeing clients who struggle with a sense of self and personal growth. Her specialisation lies in working with anxiety, depression, inner child work & childhood trauma, stress & anger management, relationship issues, OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder) body image issues & eating disorders.
Ujjwal’s eclectic approach stems from years of experience working in varied sectors like corporates, colleges and school for neurodiverse as well as neurotypical students. This gave her an opportunity to deal with varied concerns across age groups and create a safe and non-judgemental space with a wealth of knowledge for the human psyche.