Contact

Stephanie Birkdale
Asperger/Autism Network 
617 393-3824 x32
stephanie.birkdale@aane.org 

When

First Thursday of each month,
beginning October 5, 2017
6:30-8:00 PM

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Where

AANE 
51 Water Street
Suite 206
Watertown, MA 02472 

 
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1st Thursdays Support Group for
Parents of Older Adults Age 27+
in Watertown, MA

This parent of adult support group is designed for parents of older adult children, 27 years or older. Through this support group, parents can build an ongoing connection with a small community of other parents. AANE parent of adult support groups also give parents an opportunity to voice their concerns and frustrations. It also lets them acknowledge hard-won and unexpected victories.

The group will be moderated by Michele Cantara, Director of Family Supports at AANE. Michele is the mother of a young adult with ASD who is taking college classes and working at two part-time jobs.  In college, Michele majored in Psycholinguistics, which helped her recognize her son's social interaction issues early on, and started her down a path of advocating for parents.  In 1998, she co-founded the Massachusetts Special Education Parents Advisory Council (MASSPAC).  Michele also spent 35 years in the high-tech industry, and she now applies her well-honed consulting and change management skills to parent coaching sessions and support groups at AANE.  

All meetings will be held at AANE in Watertown. We will meet monthly for 6 months on the first Thursday of each month from 6:30-8:00 p.m.:

  • October 5
  • November 2
  • December 7
  • January 4
  • February 1
  • March 1

Common topics of discussion are:

  • Now that your child is an adult, how do you parent without power?

  • How do you keep the lines of communication open?

  • How can you help your child find and sustain employment or live independently?

  • How to get your adult child expand his or her social network?

  • What local providers, programs, and services have other parents used and what were the results?

  • How have other parents tapped into health, income, housing and other benefits?

Group members need to register in advance and membership is limited to 12 individuals. Members must be parents or other adult family members of an adult with Asperger’s or a related profile. Registration is $90 for the first participant and $45 for additional members of the same family.  These support groups are not subsidized by a grant and are self-funding.  Financial waivers or discounts are limited.

Contact Michele Cantara (michele.cantara@aane.org) for more information.