Hi all, my 19 yr old son has mild ASD and has always struggled socially with friendships. He is very lonely and desperate for a social life, any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Hi all, my 19 yr old son has mild ASD and has always struggled socially with friendships. He is very lonely and desperate for a social life, any advice or suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thanks.
Their is a virtual event being hosted by autism nottingham using a virtual meeting space called gather town which kinda like a video game on the 23rd of February 2022 between 7pm and 9pm GMT. it's been advertised for individuals 18+. even though it being hosted by autism nottingham it open to anyone across the UK.
here is the link to autism nottingham event page:
https://autisticnottingham.org/gather-town/
On the Xbox series S/X their are clubs. The Clubs feature easily integrates your game's teams, clans, and communities. General-purpose clubs in Xbox Live are focused on games and interests. Clubs are created and managed by gamers to socialize and play with other like-minded gamers. If you scroll on the social menu and search for neurodivergent club or the autism club there are multiple clubs for those aged 18 + and some of them are focused on certain games like minecraft. there are also clubs for the under 18s but they are exclusive restricted by age and will not show up in the adult xbox users search.
by joining a club it allow you to communicate with other people over the microphone while playing the same or different games as long as you have the party feature activated. the community are surprisingly really inclusive, there is the occasional troll so keep that in mind.
No such thing as mild autism ! You either have it or not. I think the term is your looking for is “ autistic individual without an intellectual disability”.
1) using the internet you may want to search for your local autism partnership. They will often have social engagements and access to advocates. They often host or sign post to social events designed for autistic individuals. More focus is being directed at individuals 18+ with autism without intellectual disabilities but no funding has been allocated. You know because of the conservative government.
2) their is an autism virtual chat event that uses a 2D game to allow individual across UK to talk to other autistic individuals 18+ the next one is happening in February but I can’t remember what it’s called and the exact date.
3) You may not know this but your local authority has early help and invention department of adult social services that may be worthwhile exploring. It may also be worthwhile to request a needs assessment as it can result in a healthcare plan that will allow your son to meet the criteria for help with independent skills, peer support and access to the local authority’s employment team which require a health care plan.
4) their is a Xbox club (not an actual physical club but a virtual group) specifically for individuals with autism without intellectual disabilities which allow individuals to talk to one another in a party and play games with each other. It’s can sometimes be awkward and quit but sometimes you talk to people over the microphone.
5) multiple DISCORD servers for people on spectrum to talk to one another over microphone and web chat. My preferred one is the YouTuber purples Ella’s the community is so inclusive.
6) your local city bowling alley, cafes and leisure centre may have autism friendly hour where autistic individuals can meet and play, talk and meet people. With quieter music and dimmed lights. You may need to ask them to create such timings.
7) mens sheds across the UK have embraced autism training to make them more inclusive, but often the older generation horde them and it’s often operated by older gentlemen which doesn’t understand autism complexities. The mens sheds do a range of different thing from crafts, wood working, bike repair.
8) peer support. You can ask your citizens advice, doctor, social worker to sign post you to a peer support program. They will partner up someone from your local community with similar interests and it down to you to arrange what you do. It could be attending the gym, sport centre, play chess, play video games.
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Hi, thanks for the reply :-) Yes he does play GTA online, but I’m not that familiar with it, are you thinking they could hook up on it? Where are you based? if you’d like to discuss more offline i can be emailed on scondaccoun@gmail.com
I have a 21 year old with the exact same problem. He makes a friend at work and then they leave, its breaks my heart everytime he goes through this. He did recently join matthews hub but all of their social activities were whilst he was at work. My son would do anything to be able to socialise but he just gets overly anxious. Does your son like any kind of online gaming?
Hi Dad2067, Welcome! Sorry to hear your son is having troubles, perhaps he can join this community here and make some like minded friends? Addtionally, you could find you local branch and see if they are hosting any social events that he could attend
Our branches offer support to local autistic people and their families. If you interesting in checking if there is a local branch near to you, please follow the link below:
https://www.autism.org.uk/what-we-do/local-branches
Hope that helps,
SarahMod
