How to Make and Keep Friends: Young Adults with Disabilities
Sometimes it can be scary to think about getting out in the world to make and keep friends, especially if you haven’t done it much before. One way to deal with your problems is to find a safe place where you can talk to people who understand how hard it is to make friends and deal with your disability at the same time. Young adults may also have a harder time making friends than little kids. When you are young, your parents sign you up for programs and take you to school, church, or events in the neighborhood. As a young adult, you need to find new ways to meet people.
When you only have family as friends, you start to understand how important friends are. Friendships can help young people live more independent and happy lives in many ways, but it all starts with taking that first, very important step. All Friends Network wants to be the internet friend network where teens and young adults with autism, cerebral palsy, and other developmental disabilities can make and keep lifelong bonds. It starts with talks on our website and the Live-LINK app, and then it moves on to events, activities, and get-togethers in real life that are perfect for practicing making friends with real people.
Opportunities to Meet New People
As people get older and more experienced, they should all try to make good friends. Friends push us to do more, be better, and work harder, no matter what we want to do or who we want to become. Children grow up faster when they have friends to talk to and help them emotionally and socially. As those kids get older and become young adults, they may see some of their friends move away to go to college or for work or a relationship. It may be necessary for many young adults to learn how to meet new people, looking for events and chances to make friends in real life.
For people with developmental disabilities, making friends as a young adult can be especially hard, especially if they don’t get to meet many new people. Having friends as an adult might be good for your health. Having good friends is one of the best things you can do for your mental health. Getting through problems with friends and sadness can work together to help you succeed. Being able to talk to people who really understand and care about your well-being has many benefits that go beyond your mental and emotional health. Talking about your stress, worries, and anxiety can help you deal with daily problems, like problems at work or with family, or thoughts about how things will change as you become an adult.
Young Adults with Autism and Cerebral Palsy
To make new friends outside of family and close friends, young adults who don’t have any other friends need to look for opportunities to meet new people. It’s very real to worry about not having any friends and being depressed. It’s normal to be scared about putting yourself out there. No matter what their skills are or what they can’t do, everyone worries about the same things sometimes. Young adults can feel safe going out into society and meeting new people who share their hobbies, goals, and backgrounds through All Friends Network. We want to make our goal of helping people make lifelong friendships come true by creating an online network for autistic young adults and people of all ages with developmental disabilities.
People are working on programs that will not only help people make friends and deal with sadness and friendship problems, but will also give them access to tools that will inspire, help, and teach them life skills they can use when they get there. The online training films, short seminars, and one-on-one meetings that are planned will make it easier for members of our All Friends Network to start talks and make new friends. We also plan to work with hiring agencies to help our members who are looking for work find chances. To support people’s attempts to live on their own, even professional resume writing lessons will be made available.
Support for People with Developmental Disabilities
Do you want to join All Friends Network or do something with our Live-LINK app? Get in touch with our staff through the website to learn more about all the real-life events and chances that are open to our users. Another way to get in touch with us is to call 941-587-7172 and talk to a staff member about our social and educational events.