Cerebral Palsy & Social Networking

Having support from family and friends can be helpful when living with cerebral palsy (CP), a neurological disorder that hinders a person's ability to function. The Internet assists in finding this support through social networking websites. For individuals with cerebral palsy, social networking websites can relieve feelings of loneliness by connecting you to other individuals with CP. For family and friends, social networking websites can act as an educational resource for how to be more supportive. Helpful CP social networking websites includes Disaboom Live, Cerebral Palsy Social, and "Living with Cerebral Palsy" (Facebook).

Disaboom Live
Disaboom Live (www.disaboomlive.com) is the affiliated social media website of Disaboom, an informative resource for individuals with disabilities. Founded by Dr. J. Glen House, Disaboom offers a wide range of disability-orientated articles. Disaboom Live is a social networking website open to anyone in the disability community. The site allows you to blog, join groups, and participate in discussion through forums. Disaboom Live can be a great place to connect with others who have CP, as well as individuals with other disabilities.

Cerebral Palsy Social
Cerebral Palsy Social (www.cerebralpalsysocial.org), a social networking website strictly for the CP community, launched in early 2009. In an interview with webmaster Menachem Rosenbaum and project operator Danny Levy, Rosenbaum and Levy explained the Cerebral Palsy Social community has grown very slowly, partly because of the website's small marketing budget. Rosenbaum and Levy hopes Cerebral Palsy Social will eventually become a support tool for individuals with CP and their families. Some features of Cerebral Palsy Social include private messaging, blogging, creating groups, and connecting to Twitter accounts. As the Cerebral Palsy Social community grows, Rosenbaum and Levy hope to add more features, like instant messaging and video chatting.

"Living with Cerebral Palsy" (Facebook)
"Living with Cerebral Palsy," a sub-page on Facebook (www.facebook.com/pages/Living-with-Cerebral-Palsy/167491117935), currently has a community of almost 1,500 people. Community members interact through wall posts, having discussions and sharing links. Also, being a sub-page on Facebook allows users to private message each other and even become friends. "Living with Cerebral Palsy" was started by Susie Bennett, author of "The Sky's the Limit." "The Sky's the Limit" is Bennett's autobiographical story, exploring the challenges she faced because of her CP.