Meeting fellow parents of neurodivergent kids (in Berkeley)
I have two neurodivergent (autistic and maybe-autistic) kids who fill my life with delight, and also I feel like I am running myself into the ground trying to work with them both, especially when they are together. I was wondering if there are other parents nearby who have something similar going on and would like to meet up, maybe just to walk and talk. I’m in Berkeley, south/central.
My 8 year old is autistic, “low support needs”—super affectionate, and we have wonderful conversations, and also we struggle a lot with emotion regulation, inflexibility, and all the implications of focusing on truth and accuracy and the literal meanings of words while missing the social meanings and effects. My 4 year old is more socially intuitive, but I am wondering about autism for her too based on rather intense sensory sensitivities. They have delightful times together and thankfully mean well toward each other almost all of the time; but also their interactions can quickly go off the rails at any moment based on one of them having an outsize reaction to something the other does (leading to one or both of them melting down, and sometimes me too, alas).
Anyway, if you feel like this resonates and would want to meet up for coffee or a walk, or you know of an existing group that would be a good fit, please send me a message!
Parent Replies
Hi
I have a 6.5 yr old, who fits the PDA profile of Autism, and I’d be happy to meet up (my kid too). We live in North Oakland.
I’m also an OT and I’m tapped into some resources, and always interested in sharing and learning from others…
Rita