A few nights ago we attended a parent support group meeting at a local elementary school. While attendance wasn’t what the organizer had hoped for, it was very helpful for us.
While Covid and school sports are going on, it is hard to get steady attendance. I encourage meeting organizers to continue to offer these meetings as long as there is some interest. While the numbers of attendees won’t always be high, there is definitely a need for these meetings and those that attend really benefit from being able to share with others, learn new things and just remember that they are not alone out there.
The guest speakers specifically were involved with a program that our oldest son had just started. Due to Covid we hadn’t had a chance to meet face-to-face or really discuss what the program was about. It was helpful to have more information and to be able to answer questions and to fully understand the process. It was also helpful to the other attendees to know what there was potentially out there in the future available to their children. So many times parents don’t know what’s available and how to get the services that could benefit their children.
To those of you still offering group meetings – thank you for doing your best during these trying times to help families see what’s available and to be there when it’s just nice to know there are other families on the same path as your own.
Remember there are a lot of people who are unable to meet during this time, either because finding a sitter, or being willing to trust a sitter, during the time of Covid is more difficult, or being hesitant to meet people in person can cause problems. So consider offering virtual support meetings as well to see if that increases participation. It’s not the same, but it can be the relief and support that other parents might just need.
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