We Were In Real Life

Rody, Our Mascot!

One of the important things about this site is the connection. Connecting with others who can relate is by far one of the best things about coming here and sharing. Here, you can support and be supported. We love to see people talk in the groups and help each other.

One of our 2011 initiatives was to bring that connection to life by hosting small events. Atlanta seemed like the logical choice and so we set out to plan. We knew we wanted it to be educational. Casual. Affordable. We didn’t want it to start to early or end to late. We talked about future childcare options. Large locations, central to Atlanta. Again, affordability. We ended up settling on a 3 speaker format and the theme of Relationships. Personal, medical and educational relationships and navigating them better in a special needs world.

I’m proud and happy to say our inaugural IRL event in Atlanta was a huge success! Thank you to our sponsors that made it affordable for attendees ($15) and muffins and lunch were deliciously provided by Babette’s Cafe.

Presenting sponsor: Celebrate Calm

Additional sponsors: Hewlett-Packard, and Spin Master

How do we define success?

• Everyone moved in from seats around to gather for lunch to talk.
• Everyone loved the format of speakers then lunch then speaker then an hour before we left for the day.
• Everyone asked when the next one was going to be held.
• Everyone asked to be put on our mailing list.
• Many people hugged when they left.

We hope to bring this type of event and others to other cities where we have members. If you think you’d like to have one in your city, let us know! With Dawn in Ohio and several community members there as well, it’s the next logical location…and of course, BlogHer! But that’s another type of event altogether.

Thanks for letting us create a different kind of community. One where we can grow and learn from each other and one where we can figure out what kind of community we want! Thanks Atlanta!