UPCOMING ARTICLE: SOCIAL SECURITY DISABILITY AND ASPERGER'S
This article will examine the current state of the Social Security Administration and how it determines benefits, particularly with regard to Asperger's Syndrome.

Since I have started telling people that I was going to start a support group for Adults with Aspergers, they have been asking me: "So why are you starting this group?"  My immediate thought is: "that is a silly question, it is plain obvious why - because people like me want to communicate and support other people like me." That is not what I actually say, but it is what I verbalize in my mind. "Maybe if you had Asperger's you would understand," I quietly and frustratingly think to myself. Then I remind myself that, although I myself am very aware of the need for such a support group, the vast majority of people in our society simply lack awareness of Asperger's Syndrome.

My answer that I actually communicate verbally to those who ask (while the above thoughts are quickly but silently processing) is "I am starting this group because people need support, they like to share their thoughts and feelings, especially with people who understand them and share similar interests and problems." Not too many people want to be alone in this world (at least for any long period of time). People have a strong desire, perhaps you could say an instinct, to communicate with other people and to feel liked, understood, and loved. I have never personally known anyone who has not had the ultimate desire of being loved and understood. It seems like it is a basic human instinct. Instincts are extremely powerful. So, in a sense, I am starting this group for instinctual reasons - this is the way I am. I am also starting this Adults for Asperger's Group because there is a communal and societal need for it. I did a lot of searching and researching and found that there is a significant lack of support groups for adults with Aspergers Syndrome, especially at a local level. The only other one I found that was within a hundred mile radius of St. Cloud, MN, is one that meets in St. Paul, MN. In fact, this was the only Adults with Aspergers support group I could find in the entire state of Minnesota. Many support groups exist for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) as well as for parents of these children, but such groups for adults is sadly and severely lacking. It is a very good thing that there is a lot of support for children with ASDs, and I hope these groups will continue, expand, proliferate, and be effective. But children grow up! Asperger's Syndrome was not recognized as an official diagnosis until 1994 (when it was added to the Diagnostic Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders - the DSM-IV). Many adults that were children prior to the 1990s were never diagnosed and therefore did not recieve the services and support that are now available. I was not diagnosed with Aspergers until I was 39 years old (just six months ago). I went through my entire childhood and a good portion of my adult life without being properly diagnosed. Many other adults that grew up prior to the 1990s are in the same boat. The only other group I found in all of Central Minnesota that involves Adults with Aspergers is a recreational group that is offered through the St Cloud Community Ed program. From what I gathered, this group meets to do recreational things, such as playing board games, sports, and other recreational activities. Last I heard there were only five individuals with ASDs in their twenties participating in this group. I intend to participate in this group as well. For more information on this group contact the St. Cloud Community Education Program (located at McKinley Community Education Building in Waite Park, MN). I encourage others to start up support groups and seek out and create resources for adults with Asperger's. We need the support of each other. And we also need understanding and support from our friends, families, communities and societies.

The group I am starting will be the only ASD emotional support group in central Minnesota, at least that I am aware of, that will be specifically for Adults with Aspergers. The purpose of this group will be to provide communication, emotional support, exchange ideas, concerns, resources, knowledge and skills, and to raise awareness and understanding in the community about Adults with Aspergers. That is why I started this group.