AWEtism We Embrace Support Group
Welcome to AWEtism We Embrace (AWE)!
A Peer-Led Online Support Group for Adults of All Neurotypes
AWEtism We Embrace (AWE) is a welcoming, facilitated support group for adults of all neurotypes, including both neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals.
🗓️ We meet online via Zoom on the third Tuesday of each month (except June) from 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM Pacific Time.
🔁 Each month has a new Zoom link. To receive the link, email our group founder and facilitator:
📧 Shasti McLaughlin at ShastiM@autismempowerment.org
Shasti will send the link one week before each meeting.
Read on to learn more details below:
🌟 Who Is AWE For?
AWE is for all adults seeking connection, encouragement, and understanding. This includes:
- Autistic adults (diagnosed or self-identified)
- Neurodivergent and neurotypical individuals
- Parents and caregivers of people on the spectrum
- Partners, siblings, friends, and loved ones
- Advocates looking to support someone close to them
- Adults navigating their own neurodivergent journey
💡 No diagnosis is required to participate.
🤝 What Makes AWE Unique?
Unlike many groups that focus on a single identity or experience, AWE welcomes both neurodivergent and neurotypical adults in the same space—bridging understanding, fostering connection, and reducing isolation.
💬 Many people join AWE to support someone else… and end up finding support for themselves.
🌱 What You Can Expect
✔️ A safe, respectful, and judgment-free space
✔️ Opportunities to share experiences and learn from others
✔️ Fresh perspectives, tools, and encouragement
✔️ Support for your personal growth and relational understanding
⚠️ Note: This is not a therapy group. AWE is a peer-led support community focused on relational connection, insight, and mutual respect.
🎯 Our Mission
We come together to explore how autism touches our lives—whether firsthand or through loved ones. AWE provides space to reflect on our unique journeys and to embrace the aspects of autism we may not have been taught to value.
🧠 With open conversations and mutual respect, we invite trust, growth, and self-confidence to flourish.
📨 How to Join
To get the Zoom link or ask questions:
📧 Email Shasti McLaughlin: ShastiM@autismempowerment.org
💬 Join our Facebook group:
🌐 AWEtism We Embrace Friends and Family
👩🏫 About AWE’s Founder: Shasti McLaughlin
Shasti McLaughlin is the founder and facilitator of AWEtism We Embrace. Her journey began in the public school system, working with deaf youth profoundly impacted by autism. There, she learned that all people—regardless of labels—are aware, capable of growth, and deserving of respect.
She followed each person’s unique way of learning and interpreting the world, helping them develop confidence and self-understanding.
🎉 After leaving her job as a paraeducator, Shasti became a mother. Her daughter was diagnosed as autistic at age 5. Now an adult, her daughter’s journey gave Shasti deep personal insight and fueled her desire to create spaces like AWE—where people can feel safe, seen, and supported.
🗣️ In AWE, Shasti encourages open and honest conversations about the joys and challenges of neurodivergence. No one has all the answers. What matters is having a space to explore together—with patience, compassion, and courage.
🌈 At AWE, you’re invited to show up just as you are—and grow in your own time, in your own way.
Please download a PDF copy of this flyer here and feel free to share!
last updated 11/17/2025
