Support Group Announcement

 

Hello everyone, This week the support group will be Saturday 3 October 2026 at 1:00 pm.  This week we will be meeting at the Eegees located at 243 E Speedway Blvd. The closest street is 5th ave. This week there will be a topic. I am going to ask for RSVP's for this one. There is a visiting vocational counselor who will talk about looking  for employment. If we get enough people, he says he will attend.  He would prefer 10+ people. Please RSVP  by Friday. We now have a Google Meet link for those that have an issue leaving their home. It will be up at this meeting. Please see this message's footer for the link.  See you then Regards,  John Support community location: 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ Community Office Phone: (520) 314-6896 Community web site: www.tucsonautismadvocacy.org Community  social   networking site: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Adult-Autism-Support-. Google Meet link: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/hnz-opbt-mos

Hobbies!

 

Hobbie, hobbies, hobbies! Everyone needs  a hobby! What is your hobby? Mine are astronomy and ancient arch-eaology. I subscribe to the magazines Sky and Telescope and Archaeology. Hobbies help bring meaning to our lives. 

I have had astronomy as a hobby since I was six years old when my mother bought me an astronomy book at a garage sale. At thirteen my mom bought me a small telescope. After I got married my father-in-law bought me a large tele-

scope as a birthday present. I eventually sold the large telescope, but I am rewarding myself with a large telescope that can take pictures for getting my master's degree in counseling.

I became interested in archaeology while in high school. Originally it was Biblical archaeology because I was very religious at the time, but I branched out as I became less religious into general ancient

archaeology, primarily Greece, Rome, Egypt, and the middle east.

So if you feel like your life is going nowhere and you feel ho-hum or listless, get a hobby. Now hobbies do not solve everything. If you have severe mental health problems please go see a coun-selor, and seek a hobby as a back-up support.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you like what you are reading please leave a comment and/or like my blog.

Support Group Anouncement

 

Hello everyone, This week the support group will be Saturday 19 September 2026 at 1:00 pm.  This week we will be meeting at the Eegees located at 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tuscon, AZ 85719. The closest street is 5th ave. This week will be an open forum. We now have a Google Meet link for those that have an issue leaving their home, or live too far away. It will be up at this meeting. Please see this message's footer for the link.  See you then Regards,  John Support community location: 243 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson, AZ Community Office Phone: (520) 314-6896 Community web site: www.tucsonautismadvocacy.org Community  social   networking site: https://www.meetup.com/Tucson-Adult-Autism-Support-. Google Meet link: To join the video meeting, click this link: https://meet.google.com/hnz-opbt-mos

Goal-setting For People with Autism

 

Without goals we will walk aimlessly through life. For example, I want to provide counseling services to the adult autism population; particularly, the older adult autism population. That is a goal, but I went through a period where I just skated through life aimlessly without direction.

In acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) there is something called the compass metaphor (Hayes et al., 1999, p. 209): Our values are like points on a compass. If you were lost and had a compass, you could use it to see if you were, in fact, moving in the direction you wanted to be. For example, suppose you wanted to move south. You could use the compass to first make sure that you were facing south and then pick out a landmark, like a mountain peak on the southern horizon, as a goal to move toward. As long as you kept the peak in sight, you wouldn’t even need the compass itself to know if you were moving in a southerly direction. Now what happens when you actually reach that mountain peak? Are you now south? Or is there now more south still ahead of you for you to move toward? What if moving south is like being a caring parent There are many ways in which you can be a caring parent—different goals you could set that move you in that direction—but does it ever end? Does there ever come a time where you can check being a caring parent off of your things-to-do-in-life list, or is it continuous? If that is a central part of what you want your life to be about, can’t it continue to be just that as long as you are alive? Even if you outlive all your children, can you still honor that value? The metaphor I just desribed was used to illustrate the difference between values and goals. What are your values? Before continuing to read ponder that question for a monent. What are your values?

Once you have figured out what your values are, you can create some goals. There are two type of goals you need to create. They are outcome goals and process goals (Selk, 2009). When you create your goals you want to make them SMART (Day, September 11, 2026). SMART goals are a popular approach to creating goals. As a review SMART stands for Specific, Measureable, Achieveable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

An example of an outcome goal using the SMART strategy might be "I am getting my Ph.D in astronomy within ten years" (in 2026 that would take a goal-setter to 2036).

Process goals describe how you are going to get to your outcome goals. An example of a SMART process goal might be "I will start my undergrad work in astronomy on my way to my Ph.D, completing my bacherlor astronomy degree in four years by 2030."

The difference between values and goals was illustrated by the Compass Metaphor. The difference between outcome and process goals was distinguished. SMART goals were reviewed. I encourage those reading this post to figure out your values if you have not yet, and sets some goals to drive toward if you have not already done so.

Reference

Day, B. (September 11, 2026). The untlimate guide to SMART goals. Forbes

Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/

business/smart-goals/

Hayes, S. C., Strosahl, K. D., & Wilson, K.

G. (1999). Acceptance and commitment

therapy: An experiential approach to

behavior change. New York: Guilford.

Selk, J.(2009). 10 minute toughness

New York: McGraw Hill.

Thank you for reading my blog. If you like what you are reading please leave a comment and/or like my blog