Mother Finds Support Through Family Net

A summertime outing at a major Ontario attraction turned into frustration for Claudette Meriano’s family when they couldn’t find appropriate washroom facilities for her 12-year old daughter, Navia, who has cerebral palsy.

Many parents of children with special needs can relate to Claudette’s experience. Now, thanks to an innovative new website called Family Net, they can exchange their stories, and find inspiration, information and support.

The Meriano family enjoys a summertime outing

Meriano both found and provided support when her experiences were shared on Family Net. She was amazed at how her story educated people around her, even neighbours and friends. When included with letters, her story helped persuade over half a dozen Ontario venues to install full-size changing tables at their facilities.

“It may not be much to ask for, but it makes a world of difference in the lives of families who need to change older children and adults,” said Meriano.

The site www.familynet.on.ca was made possible through a $100,000 Ontario Trillium Foundation grant to the Ontario Association for Children’s Rehabilitation Services (OACRS). The website links families and caregivers so they can share knowledge and support one another in the daily challenges of raising a child with a disability. It also provides relevant news, current reference material and forums for parents and caregivers.

“Parents of children with disabilities have to learn how to navigate a system that is complex and that changes as their children grow and develop,” says OACRS CEO Valerie Elliott-Hyman. “They need information about a vast range of services that will help them support their child’s physical, cognitive and emotional development.”

Family Net has received over 1,000 visits per month since its startup last summer. Apart from sharing everyday struggles and triumphs, families are sharing information about losing a child, how to find funds to renovate a home to make it wheelchair accessible, teaching youth with intellectual disabilities about sexuality, and forming support circles and conferences.

“Family Net is geared to families,” says Elliott-Hyman. “It is available to them whenever they want to find information, or just talk to someone who has been there.”