On Saturday morning I had the opportunity to attend another dads’ coffee group meeting, aside from my regular one, for a new group of guys that has started here in my city. Over the past couple of months since our Dallas Morning News story appeared, we have had a lot of interest from dads in the area looking to network and get together in a low key setting. Soon we’ll be spreading out to other cities to get other new groups started.

While attending I met a new face for the first time. Steve told us about his son, and we all nodded at the stories he told. He made mention of an issue that he and his wife had been dealing with in their local school district, with regards to the care and education of their affected son. There were specific details of this story that I knew I had heard before. When he reached the end of his story it dawned on me that I had met his wife and son right about this time 2 years ago.

Small world.

If there’s anything I’ve noticed since Mason’s diagnosis almost 4 years ago is how tight knitted the autism community is. We are deeply interwoven and bound to one another.

We’ve all heard each others stories, supported each other, and offered advice or help when needed.

Since we fathers are the leaders of our families, it is imperative that we be hands on in all aspects of our child’s autism. That includes providing more than just financial support to our families that allows bills and therapies to be paid for, but also provide the emotional support to our children, affected or not, our spouse, and even extended family for those times when they're just not "getting it".

If you’re a father of a child with autism get a group of your own going. The other support groups, online and offline,will always be geared and attended to by women, so create your own venue. I promise you won’t regret it.

Some tips that we've found helpful:

- Keep the group small. 6-8 men keep the conversations going and gives everyone a chance to be part of it.

- Set up a convenient location to meet at regularly, Starbucks, over a football game, or a poker table.

- Trade phone numbers ( I found out the hard way on Saturday when I was running late that I didn't have anyone's phone number)

- Appoint someone, or rotate responsibility for someone in the group to line up the following month's meeting via email.

- It's easier to make time when there are concrete plans in place, set a specific day each month. Example - my original group meets at Starbucks at 9:00am the 2nd Saturday of every month. Some make it, some don't, that's ok.

The camaraderie that I’ve obtained thru my new dad buddies has made me a better father and husband, and I think in the end because I have this outlet, my marriage is stronger because of it. And having a strong partnership in the journey of autism can only make it easier.

I’m very happy that we’re seeing groups of fathers that want to step up and create a venue of their own. It makes our world that much smaller.

Good luck!