How to use Friends

Set up your Friends profile

Click on the Profile button at the top right of your screen.  You can add as much information as you like in your profile.  To get started, click on Update my interests.

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Interests

Profile headline
You can make a brief statement or quote that appears next to your username when people do a Friends search.  Some parents add their child’s disability (e.g.  Mom to a child with ADHD).  Some have a favorite quote they like to use.

What interests would you like to share with others?
You can share interests related to special needs, extracurricular pursuits, hobbies, etc.

What questions or topics do you seek help with?

If you have questions or need advice, add that information here. You can also check off a box that puts up an "I need help" icon on your profile. Members can search for members who have this icon in order to give them advice.

What questions or topics could you help others with?

If you are knowledgeable in any area (e.g., specific disability, toilet training, visual systems) and would like to offer your assistance, please let other families know.  You can also check off a box that puts up an "I can help" icon on your profile. Members who need help can search for members with this icon and ask for your advice.

Introduce yourself

Be as detailed or as brief as you wish.  You can personalize this section with different fonts, colors, etc.

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Family

Now that your Interests are done, click on Family.  You can add information for up to six family members.  Add a birth year, gender, diagnoses and interests.  Remember to add your neurotypical children too.  Names are not included for privacy reasons. Later you can search for other families who have children with similar interests.

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Photos

Click on Photos and add as many photos as you like.  You can even create your own photo albums to share with others.  Help us make our community more personal and inviting by adding a photo.  You can set any photo as the main photo that everyone sees.

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Find a specific friend

Select Find friends in our Community section. One Place for Special Needs hides personal information like your name and email address.  However if you know someone and you want to see if he or she is a member, you can enter their name or email and see if they come up.  For instance, type Dawn Villarreal to bring up the profile of the founder of this website.

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Find members who live in my area

If you want to find members who live near you, select Find friends in our Communitiy section. Your sort defaults to members closest to you and outward. You can also choose to find members in a certain radius from your home. For those who have not chosen to hide their location, you can see how many miles away a member is from you. 

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Find a play date for my child

Select Find friends in our Community section. Include an age range, gender or keyword search (e.g. diagnosis, special interest). Find friends works for all ages so please feel free to search for compatible friends for your teen or adult with disabilities.

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Find someone who has a child with a particular disability

You might want to find other parents who are raising children with the same disability for camaraderie and support.  In the keyword search, simply type in your child’s disability and leave the distance as anywhere.  All families who have added the disability in their profile will show up.

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Bookmark your friends

Bookmarks is a handy feature when you are searching for friends.  You can bookmark all the members who you are interested in.  Then when you are ready to contact them, you can go to Bookmarks to find them.

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I’ve found someone now what do I do?

You’ve clicked on someone’s profile and now you would like to introduce yourself.  In the person’s profile, next to their photo, you can click on Email this member.  When you send this form, the person will receive an email letting them know they have a message.  Then they can contact you back.

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How do I make someone my friend?

Click on the person’s profile.  Next to their photo, you can click on "Add to friends."  Here you can send a brief message.  When you send this form, the person will receive an email letting them know they have an invite.  They can then accept or deny your invitation to become a friend. 

If the person does become your friend, they will now appear in your Friends list.  You can see this by clicking on My friends in the Community section or visiting your Start page.

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Chatting with a friend

Once you have added some friends, you can live chat with them if they happen to be online at the same time.  If a friend is online it will say so in a box under their username. Open their profile and click on Chat with this member.  A little box will appear on your screen.  You can send your friend a message in the lower box.  This will open a box on their screen and you two can converse.  If your friend is offline, the box will have the message, “Other party is offline.  Pease try to contact them later. 

You can only chat with one member at a time.  If you have a bunch of friends who would like to talk together, you can create your own group at One Place for Special Needs.  This has it’s own group chat feature.

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What can I use friends for?

Here are some suggestions for using our Friends feature:

• Set up play dates for your child
• Set up a local play group
• Encourage social activities for your teen or adult
• Set up a local social group
• Reach out to families in your neighborhood
• Create your own personal circle of friends for support
• Invite a parent out for coffee
• Organize a local mom’s night out
• Organize a local special needs group
• Organize a school district parent group
• Invite area families to a local outing

For additional help, check our FAQs.

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