Most parents find it helpful to meet people with the same or similar experiences as themselves.

You might meet parents or adults who have received the same diagnoses, have undergone the same treatments or therapies as your child.

The various experiences of these people make them knowledgeable about many things.

These include the social, emotional, and cultural context of their interactions with services, technology, and other day-to-day issues that are hard to find in books or online.

Meeting other people and adults with the same diagnoses gives you new angle and insights into different options with all the advantages and disadvantages that they have experienced.

Listening to other people’s stories can also be a powerful and motivating way of exploring many options, not simply the current preferred option for yourself.

However, at the end of the day all their experiences are unique to their individual personal life circumstances.

They will each have their own unconscious cognitive biases, which may emerge when they discuss their experiences and choices.

What works well for one child and family might or might not work well for yours.

This is something you will need to consider.

But finally, meeting other parents and adults who have a wide variety of perspectives can not only be helpful for gathering information but it can also provide you with a powerful source of connection, belonging and community, which is valuable in itself.