Small, community groups led by members and facilitated by volunteers
Here is an easy read version of this page.
Our Serendipity Community Groups are a great way for autistic adults to meet in a supportive and non-judgmental setting. Each group is welcoming and encourages new members to join and participate in any way they feel able to. If a new member just wants to come to a group and listen to others, then that is respected and there is no expectation that every member needs to participate.
Some groups are delivered online,
and some groups are delivered in person. All groups are facilitated by a
trained volunteer as well as our Serendipity team and/or community partner organisations.
Our Serendipity groups are for all autistic adults aged 18+. Although we do have specific locations where the groups are delivered, you do not need to live in that area to join that group. You do not need to have an autism diagnosis to attend, it may be that you are on the pathway to diagnosis or feel that you are autistic. We understand that for some people, going through the diagnostic process is not for them.
Most people who attend the groups do so independently. Please speak to us in advance if you would like to or need to bring support with you to a group. You will need to be able to travel independently to/from the group or arrange your own transport.
By registering for Serendipity groups, you will need to agree to adhere to the Members Guidelines.
To join a Serendipity community group you will need to register as a member. By doing this, you are not committing to attend. Once you have registered as a member you will be provided with details about how to join the community groups. We run regular taster sessions for new members, to ensure that the group you attend is the right group for you.
It may be that our dedicated team would like to chat with you further about the suitability of the groups before you attend a taster session. The team will contact you if they need further information or would like to speak with you before attending. This is to make sure that the group is suited to your needs.
Equally, you can contact us on the below email if you have any questions.
To register as a member, you can do any of the following options:
1. Complete our Member Registration Form.
2. Email the team who will send you the registration form: serendipity@autismhampshire.org.uk
Serendipity groups meet regularly online and in person. You do not have to attend the group closest to where you live, you may want to attend any of the groups.
| Group Name |
When |
Frequency |
In Person or Online |
| LGBTQ+ Bitterne |
Monday, 10-12pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Basingstoke Group |
Monday, 1:30pm - 3:30pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Portsmouth Group |
Monday, 5pm - 7pm |
Every other week |
In person |
| St James Park Group (Shirley, Southampton) |
Tuesday, 11am - 1pm |
Every other week |
In person |
| Women's Online Group |
Tuesday, 7pm - 8:30pm |
Twice a month |
Online |
| New Milton Group (New Forest) |
Wednesday, 2pm - 4pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Yoga Group (Eastleigh) | Wednesday, 10:15am - 11:15am | Once a month | In person |
| Bordon Group |
Thursday, 10am - 12pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Swanmore Group |
Thursday, 11:15am - 1:15pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Havant Group |
Thursday, 1:30pm - 3:30pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Totton Group |
Friday, 1:15 - 3:15pm |
Every other week |
In Person |
| Fareham Group |
Friday, 2:30pm - 4:30pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Eastleigh Group |
Friday, 3pm - 5pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Serendipity Online Group |
Friday, 4pm - 6pm |
Twice a month |
Online |
| Winchester Craft Group |
Sunday, 3pm - 4:30pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
| Wildlife Walks Group | Thursday, 10:30am - 12:30pm | Once a month | In person |
| Skills Groups |
|||
| Life Skills Through Drama, Southampton |
Monday, 1pm - 3pm |
Once a month |
In person |
| New Forest Walk & Talk Group |
Wednesday, 10:30am - 12:30pm |
Once a month |
In person |
| Southampton Art Group |
Thursday, 3:15pm - 5:15pm |
Twice a month |
In person |
We run regular one-off workshops covering a range of topics. Here are the latest upcoming workshops. Please book by emailing Serendipity@AutismHampshire.org.uk.
| Workshop Name | When | Description | In Person or Online |
| Understanding Autism | Monday 16th September 6pm - 8pm | Explore our diversity and the competing definitions of what it means to be autistic. | Online |
| Autism and Thinking | Monday 23rd September 6pm - 8pm | Explore differences in the way we think and process as well as accommodations. | Online |
| Autism and Communication | Monday 30th September 6pm - 8pm | Ways of enabling better communication between us and non-autistic people. | Online |
| Autism and Social Interaction | Monday 7th October, 6pm - 8pm | Exploring autistic ways of being social and strategies for avoiding social burnout. | Online |
| Autism and Sensory Perception | Monday 14th October, 6pm - 8pm | How reactions to stimuli may give us clues as to our unique sensory profiles. | Online |
| Autism and Behaviour | Monday 21st October, 6pm - 8pm | How legislation and guidance concerning equality and discrimination applies to us. | Online |
| Making Friends with Your Body (Whiteley) | Saturday 2nd November, 10:15am - 11:15am | Making friends with your body with strategies including breathwork and meditation. | In person |
| Cultivating Calm & Releasing Anxiety (Whiteley) | Saturday 7th December, 10:15am - 11:15am | Cultivating calm and releasing anxiety including breathwork and meditation. | In person |
This video will introduce you to Victoria, the instructor for our Yoga Group. This video's purpose is to help people know what to expect.
When: Wednesdays once a month
Time: 10am - 11.30am (the session will be an hour long - the extra time will be used for setting up and packing away)
Location: Places Leisure Eastleigh
Cost: Free
To Book: Email Serendipity@AutismHampshire.org.uk
Transcript
Please note, that the below text is a transcript of the video.
Introduction
My name is Victoria Orsini
I'm a yoga teacher, I'm autistic, I'm ADHD and I'm also PTSD.
I'm really happy that I'm going to be running some yoga classes through Serendipity and Autism Hampshire now part of the Avenues Group, in a way that will be neurodivergent friendly.
I remember very well when I started yoga over 10 years ago. It took me over six months to get the courage to actually go into a yoga studio. I was scared because I didn't know what I would find and I really believed everybody would be perfect and beautiful. As I finally went in there… well I've been doing it for a long, long time now and I'm now a qualified teacher.
I spend a lot of my time trying to make yoga breath work and meditation more accessible for neurodivergent people.
What should people expect from the yoga groups?
I'm running the groups. It's going to be on the first Wednesday of each month. It's going to be an hour long yoga class. It will be an autism ADHD safe space, trauma safe space. I've recently done CPD on trauma informed yoga as well so hopefully we can use some of that.
There's no need to have done yoga before or breathing or meditation. We can start off from no experience in that at all and there's no minimum level of fitness as long as you let me know of any physical issues that you might have, we can knit that in.
Can I take breaks?
The classes will be an hour long. They will always finish on time but if you need to take time out or take a break that's absolutely fine. I've even had people sometimes in my neurodivergent friendly classes falling asleep for the entire time which is a huge compliment to me because it means they feel comfortable which is what we need really, we need and want.
The classes will always follow the same formula so we're always going to start lying down on our mats and arriving in the studio doing some nice deep breathing and breath work, positive thoughts followed by stretching working from the ground up. So on our backs then all fours and then working towards standing. We'll do some more strenuous work in our yoga classes, all of it's optional and we will always finish the class by doing breath work and mindfulness, a little bit of mini meditation.
The dates will be confirmed to you by Autism Hampshire. If you have any questions please let them know but if you'd love to come that's great. I look forward to meeting you there and any questions or any issues or any further adjustments that you'd like to request, please feel free to do that by emailing the Serendipity Group at Autism Hampshire. Thank you.
Email Serendipity@Autism Hampshire.org.uk.
The following privacy notice has been created to share with service users and clients of Autism Hampshire services:
"I like that I get to spend time with others with autism, knowing that others go through the same things you do"
"The only people I saw apart from my daughter and granddaughter were the people at the social group. It helped greatly."
"I enjoy everything about the groups - the people, the venues, the ability to socialise and to make new friends."
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