How Pinterest is an Effective Tool for Parents of Special Needs Children

Pinterest Mama wants to share this with you:

Pinterest can be an amazingly effective tool for parents of children with special needs.

Whether your child has developmental, emotional, medical, physical, or other challenges, you can seek, find, and pin resources specific to your child.

You can also share your board or boards with anyone who works with your child as part of your child’s team, such as teachers, assistants, doctors, therapists, tutors, coaches, and sitters.

If you literally want everyone who forms a support network for your child to be on board, why not have them get on your Pinterest board?

Have them add various things that they are finding to be helpful with working with your child. 

Granted, since anyone else can view your boards, you will have to make sure that everyone refers to your child as something other than their name.

If you are a parent of a special needs child, you can use Pinterest to help you to do the following:

• Enhance your ability to network within your respective community with other parents of specific special needs
• Foster your ability to interact with your child’s special needs team (therapists, teachers, doctors, assistants, etc.)
• Be up-to-date with new and existing need-specific product, services, and treatments.
• Help to get the word out about fundraisers related to your child's special need.
• Be informed about traditional, holistic, and alternative therapies.
• View buttons of favorite blogs of special needs parents, therapists, and teachers so that it is easier to identify by the pin and to navigate from one favorite blog to another.
• View and pin various research and clinical trials specific to a child’s special needs.
• Share questions, concerns, frustrations, and successes to see if anyone else pins or @mentions about that same issue related to a particular special need and then, pin helpful ideas to your board.
• Easily contact various members of the House and Senate who are actively either supporting or opposing legislation related to your child’s special need by pinning their pages to your board. 
• You can keep track of upcoming podcasts, talk radio programs, and television shows that relate to your child's special needs. 
• Can view or create opportunities for summer camps related to your child’s special need

You can do a key word search to see what others have pinned related to your child's special need.

As you start to build your own boards, keep in mind that it will be hugely helpful if you include key words in your pins, as then, others who are looking for the same sort of content related to their child's special need will be able to benefit from what you have put together. 

To get you started, here is a link to the Pinterest Boards of PediaStaff.
Their boards include information for OT, PT, SLP, Autism, ADD, ADHA, Apraxia, Sensory Integration, Speech,  Selective Mutism, Social Anxiety, Preemies, Down Syndrome, and Dyslexia to name a few...such an excellent compilation of resources...

Here is a link to a schedule of Talk Radio Programs for families of special needs children. If you are on Twitter, you will want to follow @TheCoffeeKlatch.
Then, as topics are discussed, you can add them to your boards on Pinterest.

For anything related to Autism that you may want to pin, a great place to start is a diary of a mom!
Here is a link to one of her recent posts that has loads of links that you may find helpful and that you may ultimately want to pin onto your special needs-specific Pinterest Boards for your child.

Here is a link for those who have special needs related to Gifted / Profoundly Gifted.
If you are on Twitter, you should follow the hashtag #gtchat Then, as topics are discussed, you can add them to your boards on Pinterest.

Works out so well to be able to pull from a chat and pin it onto your boards!!!

For Twice Exceptional, you could easily build your own board by selecting some from the Gifted Board and some that are applicable from the PediaStaff board.

Do you have a child with special needs?

Are you looking for particular resources related to your child?

Please leave a comment and if I come across any resources that might be helpful to you, I will add them to the comments section on this post or else, can send it to you through a @Mention if you are on Pinterest. Also, if you follow me on Twitter through my @pinterestmama account, then I will follow you back and will be able to send you the information via DM.

Are you both a parent of a special needs child and a fan of Pinterest?
Have you set up some great boards related to your child's special needs?

Please, do share! 

Well, hope that you will love Pinterest as much as I do! 

 Have a happy week!

Full Disclaimer: 
I am not an employee but am a HUGE huge fan of Pinterest who sees so much potential in what Pinterest can help you to do!