Where Advocacy, Special Needs Parenting, & Life Collide
Cafe Twitter Tuesday | Making Special Needs Connections
Making Special Needs Connections Extends to Twitter, but Why?
If you know much of anything about me, you know I’m pretty in love with social media. I like tweeting away on Twitter and sharing on Facebook; I love circling and following and sharing on Google+; Heck, I love sharing more information about myself than you could ever truly care to know here at the Cafe.
But what is true, what is important, what I’m passionate about, is using all of these forums to make connections within the special needs community, not only finding other parents and professionals, but organizations, causes and others to engage with and connect further with. To that end, I’m going to begin a new kind of post here at the Cafe. You saw my first change in this respect yesterday as I introduced a special needs blogging and Twitter tool I am absolutely in love with.
I’ve written about the way I’ve used Twitter to help make special needs connections before, and I probably will again. Today, I introduce a way to help YOU make those connections as well.
Twitter Tuesday & YOU – Make your own Special Needs Connections
Twitter Tuesday is a way to introduce you to a select few of my followers each week, share why I think they are a great resource and potential Twitter follow for you, and tout their awesomeness a bit. Sometimes, these will be folks you have heard of, sometimes not. They might have 1000′s of followers and Twitter buds, they might just have a few.
My Hope? Is that you will take the chance to make a few new friends and use the Cafe’s version of Twitter Tuesday to make those meaningful connections.
Twitter Tuesday #1 – Autism, Dads, & Twitter
In the land of Mommy blogging and moms making connections, you don’t know how often I hear (even from my own husband) that the dads are left in the cold. So to lead my Twitter Tuesday I thought I would share a few neat Dads on Twitter who tweet regularly about special needs topics, specifically autism. 
- Stuart Duncan, AKA @AutismFather on Twitter, has an amazing site: http://www.stuartduncan.name/
Stuart is a neat guy, who is down to earth and passionate about spreading and growing autism awareness. But he’s after more, as evidenced by a quick look around his site, and even the #hashtag he promotes in his bio: #AcceptanceIsNotEnoughStuart is also in the running for the Parents Best Special Needs Blog Award, because he really is just that awesome! If you want to do a little something extra for him why not go vote for him today? - Rob Gorski, AKA @Lost_and_Tired on Twitter and with the blog by the same name, is one of the first special needs parents I connected with as I began blogging earnestly just a few short months ago. Rob is honest, achingly so, about his beautiful boys who all have autism and other diagnoses, and he’s just an all around passionate guy about raising Autism awareness.Rob also has a new project he’s involved with called Android for Autism, which helps to provide donated android devices to special needs families. The android devices are refurbished and updated with apps just for kids to learn from.
Rob’s Blog, Lost and Tired, is in the running for a Parents Best Daddy Blog Award, which is much deserved. If you want to help him out a bit, why not also VOTE for him as well?
- Jim Martin, AKA @Gingerheaddad on Twitter, is a riot and a half, dedicated and loyal to boot, and an all-around neat guy to know and follow on Twitter. He’s a “parent of autism” as he notes in his Twitter Bio, as well as a lousy singer (shh, we won’t tell, Jim!). As far as I know, Jim isn’t in the running for any neat awards (Though I did recently grant him the Versatile Blogger Award, so he’s a cool award-winner too!). He writes and tweets with humor and sensitivity. And he’s totally worth the second it will take to follow him!
So —Twitter Tuesday — Cafe style
There you have it, a few amazing folks to follow and connect with, because making special needs connections is always worth doing! Who is on your must-follow Twitter list? Do you have a few special needs folks who you think are “must follow” stars? I’d love to hear about them – why not share in the comments and let others find some new friends as well?
Katrina Moody
Graphic Designer, Wordpress Addict, Blogger at Kat's Media & More
I'm a special needs parent before just about everything else in life, but also a passionate advocate for my three boys and husband, who all have a bit of awesomeness about them. Awesomeness = Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome, Autism, Epilepsy, Dyslexia, Cerebral Palsy, and more. It all adds up to some awesome kids and an amazing family.
@KatrinaMoody
Wife; Mom to 3 guys w/ARS, autism, epilepsy & awesomeness; Advocate. Writer, Graphic Designer, Wordpress addict, social media nut. Site: http://katsmedia.com &
@SpitToonsSaloon :-) Silly! One of my favorite Tweeps! - 33 mins ago
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Thank you so very much. I really appreciate all the kind words!
Thanks a lot for this Kat. I’m honored to be mentioned and I find myself in good company. You have really done well with you blog and you should be very proud. I’m proud of you
Aw thanks Rob – you were there from the beginning! Without your support (and introduction to Stuart) This site would have never grown *hugs* And I couldn’t think of better guys to include for my first Twitter Tuesday mention!
So many dads drop out of the picture when faced with the challenges autism can bring…thank-you for highlighting some hero dads on twitter, I am happy to be following them
@tannersdad is another awesome autism father who advocates and educates via twitter daily and @zackgonzalez is an awesome teen author/autism brother who has a radio show “It’s on with Zack” and a book called “Saving Deets”
@autismmomexpert is also wonderful! She has an adult son on the spectrum who also has epilepsy, she wrote a book about their journey towards his independence, and she continues to share her wisdom, joys, challenges, and more.
Tara – Some wonderful additions for folks to follow! I think I’m already following @tannersdad and @autismmomexpert, but hadn’t seen @zackgonzalez yet – *followed* Love it! I might have to do Autism Moms next week.
Thanks so much!
I love how you did, Twitter Tuesday and mentioned the great dads. Your posts really educate me as well as a lot of other people who may not have been as familiar with special needs of some Amazing people. Thank you!
I love how you exemplify how we can use Twitter to connect and appreciate others!
Aw – thanks Janis! I appreciate that. I view each social media platform as a chance to foster further connections!
Twitter at its best use–connecting people who can help meet one another’s needs and improve life. As usual, Kat, you are right on the money. Another great and thoughtful post.
Aw – thanks so much Marie! I’m so blessed to have so many wonderful folks in my life to help and propel me to be more than I could ever have fathomed otherwise! Using Twitter and other social media, I think, must include using it as the wonderful tool for making connections that it inherently brings to the table.
Kat,
Once again a delightful post. I love how you are so happy to invite everyone to “the party” and introduce us all. Still working to get the hang of this but getting there!
Thanks so much Michelle! There’s always a learning curve!
Thank you for giving credit to Dads. True that in the midst of everyday life it is easy to forget their contribution. Great posts, so informative. Love your content. x0x
Norma Doiron
@the Learned Preneur
Thanks Norma – I have to share the credit for the idea of this first Twitter Tuesday with my husband – who has continually reminded me that the world, and the internet, is made up of vocal mothers of special needs children, while the fathers are always still a steady presence but perhaps not always as vocal.
This is a awesome blog Kat. I love how you are using twitter to help connect people who otherwise may never meet. Keep up the good work. Yo are making a difference.
Awe – thanks so much Jaime! Sometimes I wonder if I am able to make the kind of difference I would love to – but that comes with time! The steady influence of other bloggers and other friends makes this a passion I can *hopefully* try to realize! I really appreciate your visit!
This is a great example of how social media and twitter specifically, can be used for a very good purpose, to connect others who are going through similar issues.
Thanks for sharing!
Bernice
I have forgotten to come here to say thank you. Oops. I hope I am better at parenting than staying on top of social media.
You are doing a great job of bringing parents of asd and other special needs together. Social media is such a useful tool to connect us. We know that moms connect really well via blogs, twitter, facebook and all the many other places. Dads just don’t connect to the same degree online around parenting issues. I hope that your post encourages other dads to be less hesitant about sharing their experiences and looking for other guys to lend an ear and some suggestions about what has worked for them.
I have been following Stuart longer than Rob, but they are both terrific resources. Stuart also has a lot of local information and insight that has been useful in understanding more about IBI services in Ontario.
Thank you so much for including me with Stuart and Rob.
Jim – thanks so much for your kind comments. My goal here is to help make those connections. We are, each of us, only a lone person by ourselves. When we connect with one another we become stronger, united, supportive. I think you are all amazing bloggers and happy my first Twitter Tuesday merged you all together! My next one is moms of kids who are autistic (and blogging!). It’ll be hard to whittle that down to 3.
*hugs* to you and thanks for stopping by!