Mums create an online community to help parents of kids with special needs

Gena Mann felt a great sense of isolation when her two sons were diagnosed with autism. “My kids were in therapy all day and my life was so different from the other moms I knew,” she said. When Carissa Tozzi, Gena’s friend, proposed to Gena the idea to create an online community for parents of children with special needs, wolfandfriends.com was born.

The mums, with previous experience in fashion and publishing, wanted to include in their website a stylishly presented list of products, curated with input from experts in the field, for kids with special needs like adaptive clothing, sensory regulation toys, and books to combat anxiety.

In 2016, the two mums, Gena and Carissa, launched wolfandfriends.com, and in 2018, the app along with the website and a newsletter reached about 40,000 in the special needs community. “I wanted to create a space that was a little bit more welcoming, more modern, more inspiring,” she says. “Something that would make shopping for them a more pleasant experience,” Carissa said.

However, the mums realised that parents needed more than a shopping list. “We realized that the most important thing to offer them is an opportunity to see that there were other moms like them that they can connect with nearby,” Carissa says.

Through the app, parents can share their location and by identifying their child’s unique special needs, they can connect with nearby people who have similar stories. Carissa and Gena created a space on the app, where the relationships can grow.

The mums are taking into account the risks associated with sharing personal information on the app. We have been and will continue to be extremely careful about anyone we choose as an advertiser,” Gena said. “We’re not taking on advertisers selling alternative therapies or things that are untested. We never would want to prey on this community of moms.”

“Now it feels so good to be able to reach those moms who were like I was back then and say, ‘You’re not alone, and we’re going to help you find friends,” Gena said.

Adapted from: https://people.com/parents/wolf-and-friends-app-special-needs-kids-exclu...
More information: https://www.wolfandfriends.com/about
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/wolf-friends-meet-mom-friends/id1436893835