Looking At Area Support Group for People on Autism Spectrum

If you think that you either have Asperger’s Syndrome or are on the Autism Spectrum, then the Philadelphia chapter of GRASP (Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Partnership) can help you.

For those unfamiliar, Asperger’s Syndrome is defined as, “a pervasive developmental disorder that is characterized by an inability to understand how to interact socially.” Cited at https://www.britannica.com/science/Asperger-syndrome

(In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) removed the term Asperger’s Syndrome. Instead, people who had been given that diagnosis were now thrust into the broader category called Autism Spectrum Disorder. Even though the APA removed the term, most people still use it.)

This GRASP chapter meets the second Saturday of every month at the Easttown Library in Berwyn from 2:pm to 4:pm.

People on the Autism Spectrum run the monthly meetings where they discuss topics such as social anxiety, self-acceptance, and strategies to become active members of society.

Over 10 years ago, Bob Hedin launched the Philadelphia GRASP chapter. At the time, he belonged to a group consisting of families who had relatives with Asperger’s Syndrome.

“I wondered why there wasn’t a group for people with Asperger’s,” said Hedin. He saw the need. He had three grown children with Asperger’s Syndrome and such a group could have helped them and other people on the Autism Spectrum.

The leaders of the caregivers’ support group encouraged him to start a Philadelphia GRASP chapter. Hedin remembered that a leader of a New York GRASP chapter also encouraged him and gave him advice how to get started.

Hedin chose the Easttown Library because he lived near there.

The first meeting about a dozen people attended. Then the number increased due to word-of-mouth. The Philadelphia GRASP chapter also had a table at area conferences for people with disabilities where they attracted new members.

Hedin is now retired and Ardmore resident Greg Bannett currently runs the Philadelphia GRASP chapter.

Bannett attended his first GRASP meeting in March 2010.

“I was so grateful for GRASP,” said Bannett, who had around that time been medically diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. “It made it easier for me to function after seeing other adults who had similar social challenges.”

Bannett realized that he was not alone, and that it was fine to be different.

“The group made me feel a bit more normal,” said Bannett.

According to Bannett, people on the Autism Spectrum are often isolated because they have social difficulties. At GRASP meetings, they feel safe to be themselves where they can discuss their social anxieties that they would not normally discuss with outsiders.

“We all learn things from each other things that we would not have discovered without GRASP,” said Bannett.