Use this Website to Help Your Child Make Friends
If your child with ADHD, learning disabilities (LD), or other special needs has trouble making friends (or has no friends), here’s help.
Does your child with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (AADHD), learning disabilities (LD), or other special needs have trouble making friends or have no friends? SpecialPlayDate.com may solve the problem.
The site was founded by Jane Hsu, a special-education teacher in the New York City public school system. “It breaks my heart when the children in my classes say they have no friends to play with,” says Hsu, who has a master’s degree in elementary education and special education from New York University.
A parent creates a profile of her child, searches for matches (you can narrow results by age, gender, disability, and location), and messages the resulting friend choices. Personal information is not shared until the child is ready to meet her friend.
SpecialPlayDate.com, which is free, also gives parents tips about behavior management techniques, and a forum to discuss their experiences with other parents of special-needs kids.
***This site is no longer functioning.
