Progress, Development, Future prospects, Proposals.....

Over the years since I began to promote awareness and provide help, supports, and a better understanding, for ASD and Special Needs kids, I have come into contact and met with many different people from many different areas, covering all aspects from parents/families/carers, to service providers, and everything in between.

Many hours spent and many meetings have been held, all for the purpose of searching and researching the best ways to help our kids, for my child, and all those I have connected with within our community, as well as others from a far distance through our Facebook pages.

During these connections I have met others similar to myself, wanting to also help families in their community, for similar reasons, either due to a family member or they themselves having a diagnoses.

One such person I have continually chatted to online and met up with a few times is a support group volunteer from a neighbouring community. He has a diagnosis and can relate on the ground-roots level to help others understand they have a chance of a positive outlook.

We recently chatted for over an hour relating to the do's and don'ts of organisations, the benefits of running a support group, and future prospectives. While commenting, he stated how impressed he was with how I've arranged the formatting of our group setup, the implementation of additional supports, services, activities, etc.

He then asked if he could "pick my brain" in a way, for suggestions, ideas, and solutions, to keep things flowing with fresh ideas, and ways to solve their falling number of participants in their local group, the set up of different classes, sessions, and ways of sourcing clients/members.

He suggested a type of arrangement, an amalgamation as such, relating to the sharing and combining of our ideas and information jointly with each other.

This would relate to connecting a number of local communities in our region, working together and combining our knowledge and experiences to form a complete support network, then sharing our resources to the wider region, connecting with the masses (so to speak). 

While I was more than happy to lend a hand and help with brainstorming, and he was surprised with the different areas and suggestions I came up with and covered during our phone-call, he also admitted there were a few of our neighbouring towns that weren't committed or felt the need to combine their resources etc to helping out.

While I totally get it on both sides of the coin in these decisions, the basis of the idea is definitely a reasonable request.

 

Realistically, the idea itself is 'his', although he willingly admits he's unable to do it alone, or know exactly how to initiate, format, and organise the running of his plan.

The ideas I have would and should work well, when asked my opinion, the spiel I gave him in response was received overwhelmingly, and I'm sure he would have noted and will take on board gratefully to use for his prospective project.

However, this in a way is also 'my' idea, something I've had on the back-burner for a while now and something I have already initiated in a format through my Blog postings, my Website, and my ASD Support Facebook page.

Unfortunately with my total workload in the different areas, including and foremost the commitment to my grandson, all taking up so much of my time, I too agree and totally understand that the arranging of such an idea with regular postings would have to be through an amalgamation of people, to research, provide, format, then distribute, 'or' in our case, gain a collective number of email members to come on board to receive the information and gain/benefit/grow from its content.

Thinking about the bigger picture for me being....

-do I go ahead on my own path and slowly get to the same place with my own growing number of clientele.

-do I amalgamate with him and jointly contribute to his proposal and source a wider group of members.

My concern is, if I commit to an amalgamation, how do I know my purpose and direction will be honored, will I get to have a reasonable input and acknowledgement for my contributions.

-will the implementation, format, and personality be as I want to be related to?

Knowing I've come to this point on my own, my way, without answering to a higher body, being credited for the work I've produced on my own merits.

This is a big thing, becoming 'one of the workers'.

Will we commit together equally on a level playing field or will we have a higher being controlling us? 

All these things are why others have probably bowed out.

If I give my support even with ideas and suggestions and leave it up to them to continue, will that then over-ride my bigger picture and cut out my prospective future direction.

Because I am time-limited now, doesn't mean I should for-go the options to present these proposals for my own future advances when I am able to grow my own business and services.

These are the reasons I am so hesitant and reluctant to begin something in connection with others.

I actually love being my own boss, working at my own pace, doing what suits me and my family at any given time.

Although to have the chance of sourcing other important mediums, to connect with additional families, carers, and service providers, all sides of the field, to then help provide a chance to connect the dots for so many families needing help and services that are still generally unknown.

That has been my main objective and purpose.

What do I do now, How do I progress with this new knowledge?

-- such a conundrum --