Anonymous wrote:Any parents want to start a meetup support for families dealing with ADHD in McLean, MDV area?

Yes! PM me if you're still interested.

I guess it will depend on what your child's needs are, but a girlfriend with an ASD child had just texted me about free counseling groups at Duffy Counseling in McLean after I had called to dump on her about the problems I'm having getting appropriate treatment for mine:

http://www.duffycounseling.com/counseling-groups/

If your child has vision impairment, feel free to join DC Metro NAPVI. DC Metro Chapter of NAPVI's mission is to empower families, professionals and the community to meet the needs of children who are blind/visually impaired. Visit us on Facebook at Facebook.com/DCMETRONAPVI

Any support groups for parents of 2E children? I find that parents in gifted only support groups don't understand us and parents in special needs only support groups may think we're whining about nothing and we should be grateful for the high IQ. I feel really alone and would love to talk to parents of kids like mine. I understand 2E in and of itself can be very different depending on what the special need(s) is/are, but that's ok.

Any parents want to start a meetup support for families dealing with ADHD in McLean, MDV area?

Hello, I'm interested in meeting up with other families with kids with eczema. My daughter is 4.5. Ideally, it would be great if we could find someone who could explain what eczema is and facilitate some kind of discussion (albeit at a preschool level). My little one is going through some hard times at preschool and I know she would love some kind of positive experience associated with this condition. Thanks

Anonymous wrote:Where do you live in DC? THere is one for only Capitol Hill residents...
Also I have one for children with Down Syndrome...

Not the OP, but we live in the SW Navy Yard area. Is there really a Cap Hill boundary for a support group? Not trying to be a snark, but this just seems odd.

I wanted to let this group know that I run a support group in NoVA for parents of children and teens living with behavioral, emotional, and mental challenges. It is a NAMI (National Alliance of Mental Illness) group but you do not need to be a member of NAMI to attend. We meet the 4th Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Springfield VA in Rm 24. The address is 8304 Old Keane Mill Rd and it is near the intersection of Rolling Rd. My name is Cristy Gallagher and my email address is cristy@potomaccurrents.com if you have any questions. There is no child care as of now.

I am looking for support groups and perhaps playdate groups for children with SPD/SID/ADHD/ADD. I have a 4 year old DS with SID. We live in Falls Church and would like to meet preferably in Northern Virginia.

I'm not the OP but I'm so grateful for all the support groups. I'm in over my head. I have 3 children. One with apraxia and SPD, one with Tourette's and anxiety and a third with dysgraphia and executive functioning issues. I find my family and friends don't understand what my life is like, although they are certainly wonderful people who offer to listen. My children's disabilities are "invisible" which means most people underestimate the amount of effort it takes to get through the week and MCPS could care less about providing the services any of them needs! I think I could deal with any one of these challenges but when they pile on it is overwhelming. We have bankrupted ourselves helping our kids and I need help for myself. I haven't slept in days because I'm so overwhelmed and stressed out. I want to do the best for my kids, but now I feel my own life is spiraling out of control and I dread facing the day. I can no longer make even a simple decision because I'm afraid it will be the wrong one. We'll be lucky to pay our bills this month. To outsiders we seem like we are comfortably middle class but the fact is our mortgage is a huge stress because we never imagined having all of these therapy/medical bills when we purchased 10 years ago. I hope one of these groups can provide the support I need.

An earlier poster on this thread listed many support group options in Maryland. Does anyone know of similar groups in Northern Virginia? I'm in Springfield BTW.

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know of a support group in either DC or Northern VA for parents of special needs children? I sometimes feel so overwhelmed, and would love to attend a support group.

Thanks,
Tara

Here in Maryland we have the Arc program. There are also other groups as well.

How old is your child? Have you asked about it at his/her school or where s/he is receiving services? Oftentimes they have information about support groups and they may also have parents of children with special needs that you can talk to.

Someone may of posted this already, the PEATC, they have a listing of groups http://www.peatc.org/peatc.cgim?template=parent_resources.support

DC Floortimers is starting a support group that will be facilitated by life coach, Michelle Buzgon and will meet every other month on the third Sunday of the month in Bethesda at The Floortime Center. The first meeting will be November 18th from 2-4pm. Please visit dcfloortimers at yahoo groups or email kado101@aol.com for more information. The support group is open to any parents of a child/children with special needs.

Anonymous wrote:There's one in Silver Spring that was just posted on a forum. Here's part of the message--counsellor's name is at the bottom:

Just wanted to let you all know of a couple of therapy/support groups that we will be doing this fall. Please pass this info on to anyone that you think might be interested.

More info can also be found on our website at www.counselingforcontentment.com

Thanks so much!
Elana Benatar, MS, LCSW-C
elana@counselingforcontentment.com

Why so expensive? Parents of children with these issues are often struggling under the financial cost of it all. The last thing we have is an extra $70 just for the privelege of talking to other people in our shoes.