Meet ups are now back on
Autism Dad's is a self-help support group for fathers and male carers in and around Teesside.
We meet regularly and provide a supportive environment for fathers and male carers living with a child with ASD to chat, share issues, strategies or simply have a few hours away from the house.
Sessions are usually held in a pub offering a relaxed, informal environment where gents can have a quiet drink and discuss whatever is on their mind.
Living with autism isn’t easy, but finding out about it and learning from others experiences should be. Fathers and male carers do tend to be under-represented when it comes to support services or shared experiences, with mothers attending most of the groups/education/diagnosis sessions or assessments. This is not a criticism, but an observation made by a number of support groups and published papers with most of the current understanding of ASD parents’ experience coming from mothers. Fathers tend to not see their own worries and concerns as sufficiently important or legitimate to raise and therefore bottle them up and tend to take longer to reach a state of acceptance when it comes to the "family norm".
Formal support groups are generally not favoured by fathers as they lack a "personal feel" and dads find it difficult to open up in these environments which tend to feel clinical.
Established in October 2016, Dad's group was set up to provide a more social forum where fathers can discuss with each other their worries and concerns and talk in an environment with others who understand their perspective, their frustrations, their guilt, their triumphs and hopefully support each other on their journey to acceptance as well as signposting each other to various services, strategies and institutions, all whilst enjoying a pint or two.
There is lots of support and advice out there to help you make sense of the world of autism, just visit some of the sites on our Useful Links page. Charities, support groups, and specialist service providers, are available to share advice and experience whenever you need it.
Our website is constantly growing and improving as new resources become available. With the help and support we get from each other we aim to continue growing and always welcome any feedback as to what we might do to further improve Autism Dads as a valuable resource.
Thank you for taking the time to visit our website and we hope to see you at the next meet up.
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“Since taking part in this group, it has helped me understand and accept the path laid out before me. A forum where I have received fantastic advice from other dads who know the struggles and pain, but also the joy of raising a child with ASD. It has been a great place to have a guilt free laugh and joke, as well as share and unload some of the struggles we face as parents.”
Jonathan Harwood
" The group has been a great way for me to meet other dads with similar struggles in a relaxed environment"
Mark Blackburn
"Over the last year I have really enjoyed attending this group. The other lads have provided some much needed encouragement and helped me understand that I am not alone and that we all have similar worries, concerns and frustrations. The regulars in the group have become good close friends and I look forward to attending many more sessions."
Craig Alewood
