Finding Friendships for Those With Special Needs

By Sue Schreiber, Family Coordinator, Friendship Circle

As parents of a child with special needs, finding friendships and play dates for your child can be a challenging but rewarding experience. It’s important to remember that a child with special needs is just like any other child and deserves the opportunity to make friends and have fun. With a little effort and support from Friendship Circle, we can help your child build meaningful and lasting friendships.

Here are some tips of what to look for in your community and how Friendship Circle supports this:

- Look for support groups and resources in your community. Friendship Circle is a resource that helps children and teens with special needs create genuine friendships and enjoy inclusive activities and experiences. Our innovative programming is designed to foster enduring and meaningful friendships between those with special needs, “Special Friends”, and typically developing teens, “Teen Friends”, in the Greater Charlotte Area.

- Consider joining a rec - reational or sports program.

Friendship Circle offers weekly group programs that include music and movement, arts and crafts, Birthday Circle and Friends on the Town as inclusive options for children with special needs. These programs provide a structured environment for your child to have fun and make lasting friendships.

- Reach out to other parents.

Friendship Circle also has a oarent’s/mom’s group to provide support and friendship to all of the parents whose children participate in Friendship Circle. These groups can provide a sense of community and offer opportu- nities for your child to socialize with friends, while parents socialize with other parents in our brand new parent lounge.

- If you know other parents of children with special needs, consider organizing play dates or outings for your children to socialize. Or consider having Friendship Circle do this with you. Friendship Circle organizes play dates and outings through its two programs. Friends Together, our is our flagship program where we pair a Teen Friend with a Special Friend to meet on a weekly basis at the Friendship Circle Building. Our Friends engage in a variety of activities, based on shared interests, with the intent that over time a true and meaningful friendship will develop. Our weekly programs provide opportunities for Special Friends and Teen Friends to participate in a broad range of weekly group activities.

Remember, finding friendships and play dates for your child with special needs may take extra effort, but it is worth it to see your child thrive and make meaningful connections with others. At Friendship Circle we can help. Our focus is on making friends. We know how impactful the power of true friendship can be. Friends are not a luxury, they’re a necessity. We are committed to sparking dreams, building friendships and creating a more inclusive community. Friendship Circle is a beneficiary agency of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. To learn more, visit Friendshipcirclenc.org.