Karen Irvani from Banbury, UK – Founded and is Principle of Parents Talking Asperger’s group.
Karen set up the Facebook group in February 2012 and since then it has trebled in size. The first group meeting of 20 people was held in her sitting room. Today there is an average of 60 people attending the meetings.
The group has won an award from Oxford Community & Voluntary Action as well as holding three public speaking events.
The Banbury Guardian reports that the group as well as supporting children and young people with Asperger’s Syndrome also supports family members and strong friendships and links have been formed.
Parents Talking Asperger’s receive family referrals from the National Autistic Society, other Autism charities and Special Educational Needs (SEN) professionals from local schools.
Karen Irvani is quoted as saying:
“We’ve got around 15 families waiting to come to PTA for the first time. Until a child or young person tries it for themselves it’s really difficult for parents to persuade and encourage them to go anywhere new because a prominent factor in autism is the inability to cope with change and reluctance to socialise. However, once they’ve been to PTA for the first time they just can’t wait to come back.”
You can visit the group website here
You can read the original article in the Banbury Guardian here