1. Dating Sites For Special Needs
2. Free Special Needs Dating Site

Dating can be challenging! However, in today’s digital world, exploring romantic partners via online dating has become the norm for many.

Dating can be challenging! However, in today’s digital world, exploring romantic partners via online dating has become the norm for many. A 2016 Pew Research report found that 15% of U.S. adults have used online dating sites or mobile dating apps to find love; and many have even found their one-and-only perfect match. Could love really be just a click away? Maybe!

Actually, it is much closer. You do not even have to leave your house and bother with uneasy access that awaits you at many places. It is on the Internet. All you need is an internet connection, which makes dating for disabled users much more convenient. Dating while being disabled used to be a tricky matter, but not any more. Give our site a try! Dating can be challenging! However, in today’s digital world, exploring romantic partners via online dating has become the norm for many. A 2016 Pew Research report found that 15% of U.S. Adults have used online dating sites or mobile dating apps to find love; and many have even found their one-and-only perfect match.

Match (Match.com) launched as the original online dating site and, because of that, it still has one of the largest databases of singles, including people with disabilities.This site doesn’t specialize in matching persons with disabilities so not everyone is a fan. But, if you consider dating to be a numbers game, the odds may be in your favor with a larger dating pool. You can include a disability on your member profile and also set search filters to match with people with disabilities. However, there are many dating sites solely catering to singles with disabilities.

Livingwith schizo affective disorder, a condition that combines features of both schizophrenia and mood disorders (i.e. bipolar disorder or depression), James Leftwich found it difficult to navigate the dating scene. So, in 2004, the librarian founded No Longer Lonely (nolongerlonely.com), a dating site designed for adults with mental illnesses including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety, personality disorder, post-traumatic disorder, dissociative disorder and eating disorders. “Users find it very reassuring that they don’t need to worry about the stigma of telling a significant other they have a mental illness,” Leftwich told AmeriDisability Services. Now with about 20,000 members, he says, “We’ve had 40+ marriages result from the site!” No Longer Lonely is a supportive community that invites members to “check stigma at the door” and unlock the potential of friendship, love and support.

Inspired by his late brother Keith, who lived with Crohn’s disease, Ricky Durham founded Prescription 4Love (prescription4love.com). “It was hard for him to disclose his disease to anyone, but it was really hard for him to tell someone he had a colostomy bag. When do you tell someone that you have a colostomy bag… the first time you meet? The first date? The second? So, I thought if he met someone at a website where everyone had the same condition, there would be nothing to disclose,” Durham explains on the site. It launched in 2006 with 11 conditions and has since expanded to include nearly 40 conditions, such as blindness, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and many others.

1. Showing all 2 results. Default sorting Sort by popularity Sort by latest Sort by price: low to high Sort by price: high to low. $50.00 for 1 year Sign Up Now.
2. Showing all 2 results. Default sorting Sort by popularity Sort by latest Sort by price: low to high Sort by price: high to low. $50.00 for 1 year Sign Up Now.

“I always loved helping people,” says Louise Maxwell, founder of Soulful Encounters (soulfulencounters.com), a disabled dating and community website. She spent a twenty-year career working in medical offices and especially connected to patients with disabilities. Following a car accident and surgical complications, Maxwell became disabled as well. “When I was house bound, I just felt as if I had no purpose; but everyone needs a purpose,”Maxwell says. Her purpose and second career came, unexpectedly, from her son’s love life. “My son was using online dating and I thought that I could create that for the disabled community.” A decade later, the site has evolved from just a dating hub to include social-based support and resources, similar to Facebook. Many members gravitate to the chat room feature. “Soul Encounters is more than just a dating site for the physically or mentally challenged; it is a place where people meet and talk about the day-to-day things in life. We talk about current events, religion, the state of the world and each other’s families − the good and the bad. Members here know that no matter what they say, or how they feel, there will be someone who will have an opinion, encouragement, prayer or just a listening ear,” shared Laurreen in an online testimonial.

Additional dating sites to explore:

· Able to Love You (abletoloveyou.com)

· Dating 4 Disabled (dating4disabled.com)

· Disabled Dating Agency (disableddatingagency.com)

· Disabled Matchmaking (disabledmatchmaking.com)

· Disabled Mate (disabledmate.com)

· Disabled Singles Dating (disabledsinglesdating.com)

· Meet Disabled Singles (meetdisabledsingles.com)

· Special Bridge (specialbridge.com)

· Whispers for You (whispers4u.com)

DatingTips

Be honest! Some people looking for love frown upon online dating over concern that member profiles may not be completely authentic. Whether you’re dating online or otherwise, it’s important to be yourself. Remember, your disability is just one piece of you and does not define who you are. eHarmony states, “The heart works just fine, even if some body parts don’t.” So, if a person is not interested ingetting to know you – your likes, dislikes, humor, intelligence, faith, etc. –because of your disability, then that individual is not the right person foryou anyway. Online daters share a goal of finding someone special, so embrace the experience and enjoy!

Once you set a date with a match, if possible, choose an accessible meet-up location that you’re familiar with. You don’t want to arrive to a new place and discover obstacles that’ll distract you from your task at hand (the date itself).

Dating Sites For Special Needs

Give it time. You may not find a match overnight and that’s OK. If you find a match with an able-bodied person, be patient as he/she learns about how your disability can impact your life and, potentially, your partner’s life. And, if you find a match with an individual with a disability different than your own, be patient with both your new partner and yourself as you navigate new understandings and, if applicable, adjustments.

‍

...

Get AmeriDisability's Newsletter Direct Into Your Inbox!

DISCLAIMER: WE ENDEAVOR TO KEEP THE INFORMATION ON THIS WEBSITE UP TO DATE AND ACCURATE; HOWEVER, WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS, GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, ABOUT THE COMPLETENESS, ACCURACY, OR SUITABILITY WITH RESPECT TO THE INFORMATION, PRODUCTS, SERVICES OR PROFESSIONALS CONTAINED HEREIN. THE INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THIS WEBSITE IS NOT INTENDED TO AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL FINANCIAL OR MEDICAL ADVICE, NOR IS ANYTHING SUBMITTED TO THIS WEBSITE TREATED AS CONFIDENTIAL. YOUR USE OF CONTENT FROM THIS WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE CONTRIBUTORS, ADVERTISERS AND ALL OTHER ARTICLES AND LISTINGS CONTAINED HEREIN DO NOT IN ANY WAY CONSTITUTE A REFERRAL OR ENDORSEMENT BY AMERIDISABILITY, AMERIDISABILITY.COM, AMERIDISABILITY SERVICES, AMERIDISABILITY SERVICES MAGAZINE, OR AMERIDISABILITYSERVICES.COM. COPYRIGHT 2018 AMERIDISABILITY SERVICES. NO PART OF THIS WEBSITE MAY BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSION FROM THE PUBLISHER.

Image credit: Shutterstock

It really isn’t as hard as it sounds . . . most of the time!

When I took a position at a summer camp that hosted many children with special needs, I never imagined the training and experience I had there would prepare me for my own dating life. I’m a Solo Mom of four children, with one who is on the autism spectrum, and I met an amazing man whose child is also on the spectrum. Despite my experience, I still needed a mini crash course simply because our two children are very different, and I wanted as much information as possible so that his son could feel comfortable and secure around me as we all got to know one another. I learned a lot in those first weeks, and I hope that sharing my experience can be helpful, especially to those Solo Moms out there experiencing a new dating scenario of their own.

Every child is different. Parents with more than one child can agree that each child is unique and can be quite different from one another. When I met my boyfriend’s son, even though I had worked with children before, my mind was blown by how different our boys were, despite sharing some of the same diagnoses.

If you’re meeting your partner’s child with special needs for the first time, before jumping in, get some background information. Simply asking questions about the child shows you care enough to take an interest in what the child goes through on a daily basis, and researching the child’s condition and knowing the basics can be extremely helpful if you are ever caring for the child.

Some questions you might want to ask include the following:

• What does the child look like, and what are his or her dislikes?
• Does the child have any medical conditions or use any medical devices for assistance that I should know about before meeting the child?
• Is the child affected by any triggers, such as sounds or bright lights and colors?
• How does the child react to changes and new people?

On the flip side, if you are the parent of a child with special needs and you’ve just started dating someone new, be ready to answer questions and share resources that helped you along the way. Of course, you can wait to share in-depth information until you’re sure this person is invested and you’re ready to introduce him or her to your child.

Free Special Needs Dating Site

Do your best to stay calm and be patient. One of the most important things I have learned while working with children with special needs is that when something major happens, such as a medical emergency, and your initial reaction is to freak out because you don’t instinctively know what to do, it’s imperative to stay calm in the child’s presence. Even with my own child with special needs, that is something I struggle with. If you find yourself in an emergency that has been intensified by emotions, if 911 must be called and other people are with you, ask one person to call while you or another person stays with the child. The worst thing you can shout in an emergency is, “Someone call 911!”

The child may have behavioral issues, and that can be true for any child. Again, when facing behavioral issues or defiance, it is extremely important for you to stay calm and not allow the child to see that he or she is getting under your skin, especially if you’re dealing with a teenager. Some children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other disorders simply may not understand the way you’re explaining something to them, and often their resulting frustration may come out in ways that will make you want to yell at them, which may lead to a full-blown meltdown.

Don’t let other children who are involved get lost in the mix. The biggest downside to having a large, blended family is that it is easy for a child to feel lost in the mix of controlled chaos. When you add one or more children who require more attention or medications and therapies, parents can often feel as if they’re being “spread thin,” and it’s easy for the other children to feel overlooked or become overwhelmed. It’s important for you and your partner to develop a team strategy, if possible, especially if you both have children, so one adult can focus extra attention on the child who needs it while the other adult offers a distraction to the other children, which can be as simple as playing a game, watching a movie together, or going to a playground, depending on their ages and interests.

Communication is key. Above all, you and your partner must communicate well, especially because children are involved. We often underestimate our children, and even my child on the spectrum has asked my partner to do or have things he knows he’s not supposed to; but after he was told that he’d still have to clear what he wanted with me, he stopped asking because he realized my partner and I were united on that front and he couldn’t pull one over on me.

If something makes you uneasy or bothers you, talk to your partner about it sooner rather than later to avoid any resentment creeping in early in the game. Communication is important here, as it can be easy to overlook our partner’s need to feel loved and appreciated. It is also important to make a solid effort to encourage your and your partner’s children to communicate well with you and among themselves, which can be easier said than done, as likely there will be some differences in your parenting styles.

As a Solo Mom of four children with one on the autism spectrum, I expected and accepted that I was going to be single for a long time, and the man I’ve been dating also felt the same way about his situation. I never realized how difficult it can be to date someone who also has a child with special needs, and the experience has helped me learn to appreciate his efforts to be a great male role model in my children’s lives.

What dating challenges have you faced? Check out our Dating Resource section for fun articles and great tips for Solo Moms who are dating.

Tara Glenn is a Solo Mom of four who currently resides in Pensacola, Florida. She has a background in public affairs, writing, and photography. Tara spent five years in the Navy and now volunteers with the Civil Air Patrol as a public affairs officer. She enjoys working with small businesses as a ghostwriter as well as encouraging her children’s love for aviation in her free time—the running joke being that she only creates pilots, as all of her children love to fly!

Please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions.