L.A. Asperger Syndrome Parents' Support Group Home Page

Announcements Now on Separate Page!

The Official Home Page^* of the

Los Angeles Asperger Syndrome Parents’ Support Group.

We – the Los Angeles Asperger’s Syndrome Parents’ Support Group – are a group of parents, relatives, guardians, and care-givers interested in helping our children, relatives, and others having Asperger’s Syndrome (AS), because of the way in which it affects our children and our own lives. We also talk about similar problems, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), high-functioning autism (HFA), Pervasive Development Disorder-NOS, Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, Semantic-Pragmatic Disorder, Hyperlexia, and Asperger Syndrome Lite. [Despite our constant, insistent, and downright unwelcome lobbying, nagging, one-directional lecturing, and perseverating, the DSM honchos and honchas haven’t accepted the categories of “nerd,” “dweeb,” “wonk,” and “geek,” but we discuss them, too.]

Because the issues are usually very different, our group is not really the best place for the parents and other supporters of those with “hard-core” or “classical” (Kanner’s) autism, even though AS is often seen as a “mild” version of hard-core autism.

We meet monthly to discuss these issues, either for general discussions or discussions with invited experts. It’s always on the second Wednesday of each month, always from 7 to 9 p.m. It’s moved away from the Julia Ann Singer center, but not far away (it’s just across the grass). Please join us!

Monthly Meeting

What: General Meeting.

[Many thanks to Edwin Egelsee, Esq., our excellent guest speaker in November!]

Who the Assembled AS Parents, Relatives & Interested Parties.

When: Wednesday, December 9^th (last one of 2009) from 7 to 9 p.m.

Where: Since the beginning of 2009, we are no longer at the same old place, which recently became the “Henry & Marcia Baron School for Exceptional Children.”

We’re now in the Community Room in the new Julia Ann Singer center, in the “Taper Building” westward across the grass from the old Julia Ann Singer Center within the Vista del Mar campus. Making matters confusing, the last time I checked, the old building where we used to meet still has the words “Julia Ann Singer” above the front door.

But if you go to the front door of the place where we used to meet (the old JAS center) and turn 180 degrees, you’ll see the big doors of our current meeting place (near a basketball hoop).

I’ve been Googling and Binging^** all of this, but the best information I’ve received so far comes from our own web-pages.

The Vista del Mar campus is at 3200 Motor Ave. (Los Angeles, 90064) between National and Pico, 1/2 block North of the Santa Monica (10) Freeway underpass. Our meeting place is near Edith Avenue (but entry from there isn’t allowed).

For directions, click this link to see maps. For an alternative set of directions to Vista del Mar, click on this link.

Why: because we love you!

Mark your calendars and put that sitter on retainer (with health insurance, a 401k, and stock options)! Our meeting after the upcoming one is on January 13, 2009. After that, it’s February 10, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9, July 14, August 11, September 8, October 13, November 10, and (last but hardly the least) December 9 – all during 2010.

All parents, relatives, guardians, and care-givers are welcome. Drop-ins are welcome. This is not a members-only group. In fact, there is no membership list – and no fees. (We are, however, considering a secret password and a logo. Once this has been done, maybe we’ll start having annual retreats in Palm Springs.)

ASPIES_LA is an on-line discussion group under the aegis of Yahoo. If you want to join, go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/aspies_LA/summary and go through the process there. There hasn’t been much real discussion yet, but as we add new members, we hope that the discussion will take off. Please join and contribute! (Please, no advertising.) Ask questions, please! Your humble web-master somehow had the job of moderating this group dumped on his shoulders and would appreciate it if someone else could take over.

Notes:

Unfortunately (alack and alas!), we cannot provide childcare. Please do not bring your children and teens to the meeting (unless it’s noted otherwise in our announcements), since it may interfere with the ability of adults to talk to each other. (Adult children are of course welcome.)

Teachers and mental-health professionals are also welcome. (Reporters & researchers: please click here .) Note that this group is not primarily aimed at those with Asperger’s themselves (though they are welcome to attend). For more information on this, see our FAQ sheet.

Everything said at our meetings is kept in confidence, while our e-mailing list is totally secret.

The organizers of the group are Jim Devine and Fran Goldfarb. Call us for information about Asperger’s Syndrome or about our support group at 310/543-5064. [This is our home phone. Call only after 7 a.m. and before 9 p.m., please. Also, we sleep late on weekends.] We have e-mail at: laasperger@gmail.com, jdevine@lmu.edu (Jim), and beadsme@verizon.net (Fran). Please use the word “Asperger” in the subject line, so that it’s easier to separate your wheat from the chaff of spam.

Announcements: see a separate page.

Please e-mail me at laasperger@gmail.com or jdevine@lmu.edu if you have any questions or comments -- or if you want to be put on our e-mailing list. (Note: this mailing list only makes announcements about our meetings, so that out-of-town folks won’t be interested. It’s not a discussion group list-server.) If you want to add something to our web pages, please send them to me.

* Don’t be fooled by any cheap imitations! This is the real thing, folks!

** Did Microsoft realize what their search engine would become when treated as a verb?

Announcements

This page revised by Jim Devine, on 16 November 2009. It was deliberately kept simple (no Java, etc.) so that anyone’s browser can read it – and also because I lack the skills to add bells and whistles.