One mother who has a child with a disability says getting her daughter the proper resources has led to one challenge after the next. She's now launched a website to connect parents and guardians who have children with disabilities called theconnectedparent.net.
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Violet is 15 and Molly is 10. Two girls, two separate Bay Area families, but both battling a number of serious disorders, including epilepsy.
It's how their parents met each other. Violet's mom Julie is now trying to connect other parents who have children with special needs on The Connected Parent.
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"We're here, we're a free platform, and we want to help build up our disability community and whatever that means to you," said Julie Walters of The Connected Parent.
To some, the site could be used as a tool to search for an after-school program that allows those with disabilities. To others, it's searching for a new school to address health needs. It could be Zooming with another parent in a similar situation or finding a kids camp that allows those with special needs to attend.
"If you walk into a place of parents who have children who have additional support needs, and you say the word 'camp,' you will get a whole bunch of people saying I can't find one," Walters said.
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Molly's mom Bridget Britt says caring for a child with special needs is a challenge. Can Molly do this? Can she go there? It's life yes, but anything that makes life a bit easier goes a long way. She has used The Connected Parent and says it reaches a group of parents and guardians that, in her opinion, is often forgotten about.
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"She's kind of done the Google search for us and given us a ready platform and saves considerable amount of time and angst and what you need. Being a special needs parent child can feel isolating, and this brings community that is so important," Britt said.
Julie tells us the site is just that right now: a site. Not an app at this point but maybe someday. She says people from all over the country are now involved. While ABC7 News was speaking with Julie, a dance instructor in Southern California messaged the site to say that she had three open dance spots for those with special needs. Information that will first be researched, then likely published to the site for those who may be interested.
Simple ways to try to make life a little easier for parents and guardians, and better for those like Violet and Molly.