ParentPals • For SEND Families

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We’re a free community connecting families of disabled & neurodivergent children, helping children find friendships while parents find support, resources, SEND-friendly events and other families who truly get it. 🥹🩵 If that sounds like something you’d like, come join us — it’s completely free and the link is in my bio! ✨💙 #DisabledChildren #disabledfamily #disability #disabilitytiktok #disabilityawareness

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I’ll go first… 🩵 Sometimes the hardest part isn’t the diagnosis itself. It’s the grief that can come with having to adjust the expectations you once had for your child’s life. And I want to talk about that. Because you can be completely, overwhelmingly proud of your child… You can celebrate every milestone. Every new word. Every new skill. Every bit of independence. Every step forward. And then sometimes you realise that something you thought was finally happening… isn’t happening again. And there can be a quiet devastation in that. Not because you love your child any less. Not because you wish they were someone else. But because you’re letting go of an expectation you once had for their life. The life you imagined before you knew what their journey might look like. The friendships you imagined they'd have. The experiences you imagined they'd get to enjoy. The independence you hoped they'd have. The people you imagined they'd meet. The future you pictured when you first dreamed about becoming a parent. And then there are the fears. Will they be okay without me? Will someone love them and understand them the way I do? Will they have someone they can call when they're struggling? Someone they can trust? Someone who will stand beside them? Someone who will listen to them, advocate for them and remind them how brilliant they are? Will they have friends? Will they experience belonging? Will they have people around them who genuinely get them? Will they have someone to laugh with, make memories with and turn to for advice? And perhaps one of the hardest thoughts of all… What happens when I'm not here to protect them anymore? I think about that a lot. Because as parents, families and carers, we don't just worry about today. We worry about a future we won't always be able to control. We want our children to have the things we have. Friendships. Connection. People they can trust. People who will show up for them. A sense of belonging. A life where they are understood, valued and loved for exactly who they are. And I think sometimes there is a grief in realising that the path to those things might look completely different from the one you originally imagined. But there is also hope. Because different doesn't mean less. And a different future doesn't mean a bad future. Sometimes it just means learning to dream differently. And that's something I think we should be able to talk about without being judged. Because you can love your child exactly as they are and still grieve the things you thought their life might look like. Both things can exist at the same time. So I want to open this conversation. What do you wish the rest of the world understood about being a SEND parent, family member or carer? What is something you've felt but haven't always felt able to say out loud? Something you wish someone had told you? Something people misunderstand? Something you're scared of? Something you're hopeful for? Something you wish people would stop judging you for? No judgement. No right or wrong answers. 🩵 Let's make this a space where SEND parents, families and carers can actually talk to each other. Because that's why I started ParentPals. Not because I have all the answers. But because I never want families to feel like they're carrying all of this alone. Every child deserves a friend like them. And no parent should have to walk this journey alone. 🩵 #family #disabledfamily #senfamily #sendfamily #familylove

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Find your child's people. 🩵 Because every child deserves a friend like them. Have you ever wondered whether your child will find their people? The children who share their interests. The children who understand their differences. The children they can laugh with, play with and build friendships with. The children who make them feel like they belong. As parents/family/carers , we want our children to have friendships that make them happy. We want them to have people they can trust, memories they can look back on and friends who appreciate them for exactly who they are. But for some disabled and neurodivergent children, finding those friendships isn't always easy. Sometimes, traditional ways of meeting friends don't work for them. Sometimes, their interests are different from those of their classmates. Sometimes, communication, sensory needs or social differences can make connecting with other children more complicated. And sometimes, their parents are left wondering where to even begin looking for families who understand. That's why I created ParentPals. 🩵 One of the services at the heart of ParentPals is Find My Friend — created to help families discover other families whose children might have things in common. The idea came from a question that has never left me: “Can you find me a friend like me?” That question came from my autistic nephew, and it helped inspire me to build something that could help children like him find their people. Because what if finding a friend didn't have to depend entirely on chance? ✨ So, how does Find My Friend work? 🩵 1. Create your free family profile Join ParentPals and create a profile for your child. Share information about their age, interests, disability or neurodivergence, and the things that make them who they are. You don't have to define your child by a diagnosis. Their interests, personality and individual needs matter too. 💜 2. Discover families with things in common ParentPals uses information in family profiles to help identify potential connections based on factors such as age, shared disabilities or needs, interests and location. The aim is to help families discover children who might share similar experiences, enjoy similar activities or have things in common that could be the beginning of a friendship. 🩵 3. Explore potential connections Finding a possible match is just the beginning. Parents can explore potential connections and decide whether they'd like to take things further. Connections are consent-based. A match isn't an automatic friendship, and nobody should feel pressured to connect. 💜 4. Take the first step towards friendship If both families agree to connect, they can begin getting to know each other through ParentPals. You can take things at your own pace, discover shared interests and explore whether a friendship might develop. There is no promise that every match will become a friendship. But every opportunity to discover another family can be a starting point. And sometimes, finding another parent who simply understands can make a world of difference. ParentPals is free to join. 🩵 I'm building this because I believe disabled and neurodivergent children deserve opportunities to build meaningful friendships, and their families deserve a community where they don't have to explain everything from the beginning. I want children to have the opportunity to find their people. I want parents to feel less isolated. And I want families to know that somewhere out there, there may be another family looking for exactly the same thing. So, if you've ever wondered where your child's people are, or wished there were an easier way to meet families who understand your journey, you're welcome here. 🌐 Visit www.parentpals.co.uk to explore ParentPals and create your free family profile. And if you know a parent, carer or family who might find this helpful, please share this post with them. You never know who might need to see it today. #ParentPals #FindMyFriend #SEND #SENDFamilies #DisabledChildren