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I guess chatting here made me do it. I finally broke down and went to a support group meeting here in Buffalo, and thought the whole thing was very, very good. Large group with good leadership. The evening was divided into segments, first with YOPD, which met in a side room, in group-therapy format, then a general meeting with presentations by people 'in the know', followed by an exercise circle for those stuck in wheelchairs, during which the care-givers had their separate group-therapy meeting. I'm encouraged that this group will be good for me because everything they talked about, well, it was like they were talking about me. The group leaders made open offers to listen and talk, and encouraged us to form supportive relationships. There was also a separate guest at the YOPD segment, a Dr. who called himself a 'neuro-psycologist'. There's an aspect of the group which stands out in my mind. As I looked around, I saw some who were shaking like a poplar tree in a windstorm, others who were like rocks, others who were very stone-faced and spoke in monotone with poor breath support, others with clenched hands or obvious difficulty walking, and a few who didn't talk much, and seemed to drift in and out of awareness. In short, each of the multiple symptoms that are part of my PD were represented in different individuals at the meeting. I felt a new kinship with all of them, and saw clearly, perhaps for the first time, that PD cuts across the whole human bouquet, if you will, plucking flowers of all types to wither before their time. Godspeed the researchers. I just thought I'd relate my first, first-hand experience with support groups. It was very positive indeed. -----Original Message----- From: Parkinson's Information Exchange Network [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Carolyn Stephenson Sent: Wednesday, November 19, 2008 9:09 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Support Groups - My Two-Cents worth Yes, support groups are only as good as those who lead the group. It takes a lot of energy to be a support group leader. And when you add being chronically ill, which most SG leaders are, it makes the job that much harder. The key characteristic of a good leader is openness...open to suggestions, open to constructive criticism. No member of a support group should be fearful of saying something to a leader who needs help. Of course, we all know that a good support group is are sharing as well as learning. If neither of these is present then the group will fail. Sadly many leaders have very good intentions, but need help and don't ask for it or don't see that they need help. I am fortunate to have the support of two of our regional hospital affiliated speech therapists who volunteered to help me before I even started the group here. And they are both LSVT certified too, so I have double the joy of their help. If you are in a group that is foundering, I would suggest that you volunteer to help with meeting agenda; e.g. obtaining speakers. Support is an important part of illness...support through education, support from family and friends, etc. Carolyn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn