Newsgroups, Forums and Social Groups for Disabled People

Life is always easier when you know other people are going through exactly the same thing. This page is going to open up a whole new world of connections for you, and people to support you and share your experiences with.

Newsgroups & Chatrooms

Firstly there are whole host of disability, health and medical newsgroups available on Usenet, where you should be able to find a newsgroup that you can join in with. http://www.makoa.org/usenet.htm

Disabilities-R-U is where chat rooms and support groups or formed by people with physical disabilities, who want to connect with other disabled persons. http://www.disabilities-r-us.com/

Forums

Yourable is a disability forum with the slogan ‘You’re able with Youreable’ for disabled people, carers, parents and well anyone really are welcome: http://www.youreable.com/forums/index.jspa?categoryID=1

WheelchairForums is a forum where anyone with a disability can have a debate, a discussion, or have some just plain fun. http://wheelchairforums.com/

Cerebral Palsy Forum is a forum dedicated to people with cerebral palsy and their carers. There are categories on treatments for cerebral palsy and one for parents too. http://www.cerebralpalsyforum.net/

Social Groups/Community Sites

DisableUnited is community site with forums, entertainment and travel links: http://www.disabledunited.com/

Disapedia.com is a wiki site, where people can both add to the information there, join in the discussions. The forum is quite busy, but a lot of content could be added to fill out the information sections - http://www.disapedia.com/index.php?title=Main_Page

ThisIsMS is a research, news and community site about multiple sclerosis, which looks at all possible cures. It has a very busy forum and loads of resources. http://www.thisisms.com/

Disaboom is a social network site ‘connecting the millions touched by disability’ with groups, chat rooms and blogs in the community section. It also has sections on jobs, living and health. http://www.disaboom.com

The ExperienceProject is a site where you can share experiences anonymously about your disability (or anything else for that matter) and find people going through exactly the same thing. http://www.experienceproject.com/

Linkable.org is a social network site for ‘people who happen to have a disability’. It is for disabled people, carers, friends, family members and anyone with an interest in disabilities. It is in desperate need of some more members as the forum is a bit of a ghost town, but it is all set to rock. http://www.linkable.org/

Some of these forums and social sites may well be places, which will help you find people who are going through the same thing as you, and where you can find support. A good way to find places like this is to search on Google the name or cause of your disability and the word ‘forum’. Also taking a closer look at disability organization websites, will often provide links to both online and offline support groups.