On Saturday December 19 at 2pm AASCEND will try something new—an online holiday party via Zoom! The Zoom link will be sent in an email to all newsletter subscribers. There is no need to register. If you don’t have Zoom installed, clicking the link in the email we send will lead you to a series of prompts so that you can install it. It’s pretty easy to do.
The party will use Zoom “breakout rooms” and to use these you need to have a recent version of Zoom. We recommend that if you already use Zoom you get the most recent version. To get it, go to Zoom.us, click on RESOURCES, and then select Download Zoom Client. (Then follow any prompts.)
We will all meet at first in the “Main Room” or “Hub”, where a Welcome Party will continue throughout the day. We’ll all start there, and do a “holiday check-in” like our usual check-ins at AASCEND meetings, but with a focus on your holiday doings.
Next, the breakout rooms will be opened, and you get to choose which one you want to go to first. To see the list of breakout rooms when you are on Zoom you need to click or tap the icon of four little squares at the bottom of your screen. (If you don’t see it, then try putting the window in Full Screen mode.) Then click near the name of the room you want to join until the word “Join” appears. Click that and in some seconds you’ll be in the room. You can move freely between breakout rooms, too. Remember, you must have the latest version of Zoom to use the breakout rooms.
The breakout rooms are:
DJ Music & Dance
Whiteboard Games
Quiet Meditation
DISCUSSION ROOMS:
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Anime
Video Game (Discussion)
Comics & Manga
Cats & Pets
Life with Autism
Movies/TV
Music
Technology
Literature
There will also be “Spare Rooms”. Using the chat feature, people can arrange to meet each other in any unoccupied Spare Room (there will be 10 of them) in order to have personal conversations.
At 3:30 in the Main Room there will be musical offerings by AASCEND members. Contact AASCEND (see below) if you want to sing or perform for 3 1/2 minutes or so at that time.
There is limited “seating capacity” at the party, so if you can’t get in, try again later.
That’s about it! This is a big experiment and we’ll just have to see how it goes. We invite you to dress up or decorate a little if you like. It should be a fun adventure however it does go, and remember that whatever happens AASCEND is very glad that you are here and wishes you the very best of holiday seasons!
Who: Adults on the autism spectrum, families, mentors and professionals all welcome. For more information, please contact: info@aascend.org
When: Sat Dec 19, 2pm – 5pm
Where: Online via Zoom. URL and password will be emailed.