Is there any teen/youth oriented groups (such as youth club) thats an 18 year old can join

cantthinkofausername1

Hey I am a guy who recently turned 18 last week and I'm autistic and have ADHD. I currently attend two youth groups, one is a youth club 5 min walk from my house and the other is an autism friendship group for teens and young adults. I'm just wondering if there is any other groups I can join that's suitable for an 18 year old to make friends, I'm entering 6th year in September and will graduate and do my leaving cert at age 19 next year in 2025.

I would even like to find a girlfriend as well since I've never had a first kiss or relationship before and I'm very interested in having one, my local youth club near my house doesn't have that much girls near my age (theres loads of guys near my age I get along with but most girls attending my local youth club are much younger), I would be interested in finding a girlfriend near my age through youth groups

The age range of the group matters as well for me as I would prefer to be around people near my own age rather than younger teenagers (under 15 or 16) or young adults (early to mid 20s) so I have more in common and in a similar life stage (example I would join a group that aimed for 15-21 year olds but not one that's 12-18 or 18-24 when I'm 18 as I'll be around much younger or older people in completely different stages in life)

I'm also not interested in pubs or nightclubs (even though I'm legally old enough now), especially given my autism and possibly developmentally behind. I would rather engage in teenage oriented activities rather than adult oriented activities especially if they involve alcohol which I have zero interest in (since I don't want to drink alcohol and don't want to be around drunks, especially ones much older than me). A disco or party I rather attend would be a teenage disco targeted for older teenagers (around 16-19 etc) that doesn't involve alcohol in it. Another reason why I rather engage in teenage oriented activities is because I missed out alot of my teenage/adolescent years due to social isolation and covid and my disabilities and have a need to have more time to experience them before transitioning to adulthood at a later age (like 21 for example)

My local youth club (the one around the corner from my house) has a maximum age limit of 24 which is very beneficial for me given my disabilities. I did find another youth club I may be interested in for 18 year olds (18 is the maximum age so I'll still be eligible to join at 18), they even do discos without alcohol involvement as this youth club aims to discourage the use of alcohol or drugs. So let me know if you have any other suggestions for youth groups that are suitable for an 18 year old in going into 6th year in September

spurious

Moved to a more appropriate forum.

Big Bag of Chips

Have you ever thought about Scouts. You could find your local group. Rover Scouts is your age group, but if your local group doesn't have a Rovers section you could sign up to be a scout leader. You will get training through the group. You could become a leader for whichever age group you would be most comfortable with.

They are always looking for volunteers!

https://www.scouts.ie/find-a-scout-group-in-ireland https://www.scouts.ie/what-we-do/rover-scouts

magicbastarder

What hobbies do you have, or think you might be interested in?

cantthinkofausername1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122293268#Comment_122293268

I wouldn't be interested in Scouts but it's good suggestion, however I think I'll probably would have much more in common with people in the Venture Scouts age group (15-17) than 19-25 year olds since I still attend secondary school until I graduate next year and 19-25 year olds would be in a way different stage of life than me (I only just turned 18)

Shield

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122296261#Comment_122296261

Sorry but it doesn’t work that way. You are legally an adult by your own admission, and unless you have been assessed by an independent professional as being on the ASD, you can expect society to treat you like a legal adult when contact with children or vulnerable adults is concerned.

Expect your self-diagnosis of being autistic to be scrutinised by experts in this specialty as it’s a huge claim to make because it’s a self-serving diagnosis. Also, the results of any such assessments you may be asked to complete will be shared with your GP. It is found that you are not on the ASD spectrum, it could affect your employability in the future. As a police officer, I have had cases in the past where men have claimed all sorts of disorders just to be around children only for it to backfire on them years down the line when applying for jobs in schools, hospitals, civil or public servants, etc. Sad but true.

As already mentioned, at the age of 18, you can apply to join the Rover Scouts which has an age range of 18-25 but you can also expect the standard requirement to submit yourself to vetting via the Garda National Vetting Bureau. An adult saying that they want to be around children would attract extra scrutiny so if you wish to be around children at any cost, have clinical evidence from a specialist. A report from a consultant would carry a lot more weight than your verbal assurances on the Vetting papers.

At this stage, I would ask my GP for a referral to an expert consultant and be sure to attend every appointment. You are not the only person to be negatively affected by lockdowns, so jump on any and all offers of therapies such as CBT.

Finally, be careful of diagnosing yourself of having X when in fact you could have Y instead or you may have something else entirely, for example, arrested psychological development due to years of zero socialising during vital formative phase of changing from a child to an adult.

Good luck with everything.

-Shield

cantthinkofausername1

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122315835#Comment_122315835

I do have ASD, I've been diagnosed with that at the age of 3, also I'm going into 6th year in September so don't forget I'm still a teenager (eighTEEN), lots of kids don't leave school till the age of 19 these days (because of TY and starting school at 5), also 17 is only one year younger (or even months and days younger, it's basically the same age) than 18 of course I'm going to have more in common with a 17 year old than someone who is 25 (both are older teenagers that could literally be in the same class in school) also I'm not interested in joining Scouts anyway it was just a suggestion by someone