Joan,

According to an NPF booklet  "Support groups offer education,
socialization, and an invaluable 'all-in-the-same-boat'  forum, where
people genuinely understand your concerns, and share insights...".  It
sounds like your support group is into education but lacks the social
interactions that you need.

My husband and I facilitate a young onset  support group (I have
Parkinson's) that meets once a month.  We started off meeting in homes on
a rotating basis, but we got too large and too much house cleaning, we
now meet in a large living room like setting in a local church.   I think
because we have a rather small group of regulars (6 couples plus ) it is
easier for us to become more involved with each other.  Our best meetings
seem to be the ones where we spend the two  hours just  "sharing" and
maybe watching a video concerning some aspect of Parkinson's, and of
course we always have refreshments!  We do have speakers, but they are
not usually Parkinson's experts. Rather, they cover a wide range of
topics such as exercise, social security, massage therapy, and art
therapy.   Our speakers always seem willing to stay and interact with the
support group members.  As a matter of fact  quite often I have let
people know it's time to end the evening or I think we'd be there for
another hour!  And most important,  besides videos and speakers, a
support group meeting should always have time for spontaneous humor and
laughter.

Keep going to your support group for information because like you say,
the speakers and the question / answer sessions are "pretty good".  In
addition, though, I suggest that you take charge by finding two or three
people in the group that you feel comfortable with and go for coffee or
lunch.

Sharon H