Autistic Groups on Facebook and Beyond
Autistic Groups on Facebook and Beyond
One of the hardest things about being in a minority group is finding a community so that you don’t feel so alone. Communities allow you to find friendships, commonality and access peer support. Suddenly you aren’t alone. Suddenly you aren’t the only person you know that thinks the way you do. There is strength and power in a community especially in a minority community such as the autistic community.
On our resource page, you can find many supports and resources for autistic people in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. For those of us that are privileged enough to be able to access and enjoy Facebook, I have compiled a list of Autistic and Neurodirvernt groups that I am aware of. If you are aware of any amazing groups you think deserve a shout out, please do comment to let us know. All of these groups are aimed at adults. All of these groups allow for self-diagnosed or suspecting autistic people to join. Many of them provide online meetups and real-life meetups when it is safe to do so.
The Facebook groups in alphabetical order are:
- A Wee Irish Group For Neuroqueers
An all Ireland group for Neurodivergent Queers to vent and seek support and share a good meme. - Adult ASD/ADHD group (Northern Ireland/Ireland)
An all Ireland group for Autistics and ADHDers to come together and chat and support one another. - Autism Stone Challenge
A group to set about using a creative way to get people talking about autism and help dispel myths. - Autistic Paddies Social/Chat
An all Ireland group for adults who think they are autistic. The group provides a space to chat and socialise. For more specific interests there are many sibling groups for example Book Club, Politics, Pokemon Go and True Crimes Discussions. UPDATE: Autistic Paddies has been archived, but there is a successor group called Autistics Ireland Social Group - Cork Women’s Aspergers Group
A group for Autistic Women in Cork that provides support groups and meetups. - Dublin Autistic Adults’ Community
A group for autistic people all over Ireland to talk with one another. In non-COVID times, they have meetups in South Dublin. During covid, they have zoom meetups. - Galway Autistic / Aspergers Adults Group
In non-covid times, this group had meetups for autistic adults in Galway. - Meetings of Autistic Aspergers Adults in Ireland
From the group description “This group is for Adults with autism/Asperger’s Syndrome and also parents who have children with autism/Asperger’s Syndrome. and partners of people with aspergers. Also ADHD and social anxiety.” - Neuro Pride Ireland Community
A group for all Neurodivergent adults and those who are questioning their neurotype. - Northern Ireland Informal Meetups for Autistic Adults
A group for Northern Ireland Autistics to organise meetups and connect. - Rainbow Autistics Ireland
An all Ireland social and community space for autistic adults who also fall under the LGBTQIA+ banner. - The Autistic Art Club (ADULTS)
A group to share art of all types for example photography and painting.
And finally, some bonus social activities/groups that are not Facebook groups:
- All Abilities Ireland (UPDATE 2022: Unfortunately, we can no longer recommend this group as they offer PEERS® social skills courses which we do not consider Neurodiversity-affirming.)
- Aspire Adult Social Group
Host Quiplash every fortnight on Zoom for Autistic Adults. - Bray Neurodiversity Board game night
During non-covid times, they run monthly board games for neurodiverse adults.
Mx C Doyle currently goes by the name Cír. They live in Dublin. Cír has multiple Neurodivergencies. They are not formally diagnosed with some of these due to several systematic barriers. Cír is a disabled, trans, queer person who has too many labels to name in a quick bio. After years of therapy and self-care, and discovering they are a BPDer, Cír is very passionate about mental health. Other topics that Cír throws themself into include the queer community, polyam community and general activism. Cír is the project coordinator of Bi+ Ireland, as well as the creator of Rainbow Autistics Ireland and Book Club for Autistics Ireland. Though in their downtime Mx C can often be found consuming fandoms, playing video games or reading a book. They are a self-confessed geeky social activist. Mx C hopes to use this blog to share their perspective of being an autistic neurodivergent queer as well as sharing many tips they learned over the years.
