Personal Network

As we go to work, school, the gym, the grocery store or just walk around our neighborhoods, we often connect and bond with other people. These people are our friends, family, colleagues, mentors, or advisors. Within this group, we often build a community that can celebrate our achievements and support us when we need it throughout our lives.

It is often harder for children who have disabilities or special health care needs to build this kind of community for themselves. At the same time, it’s critical that our children have supportive people in their lives, especially for an only child. You can help your child connect to a broader community by setting up personal networks.

A personal network is a group of people who have committed to being in your child’s life. They commit to helping make sure your child is well cared for. And they benefit from this commitment by having strong relationships with your child, your family, and other network members who can enhance their own lives.

Texas Parent to Parent offers trainings and tools to help parents form personal networks for their children. This page has some ideas to help you if you are ready to get started building your personal network.

Who Might Be Part of Your Personal Network?

Networks can be small, with only 3 or 4 members, or they can be very large. Your list might be longer, but here are some ideas on who could be included:

• Siblings or other family members.
• Neighbors.
• Friends.
• Former teachers.
• Former or current caregivers.
• Network members’ children.
• Attorneys or financial advisors who have helped your family.
• Co-workers.
• People you meet at church or community organizations.

One goal of a personal network is to form a community of support to help your child as you age and are unable to provide the same level of care you are used to. So, it’s good to think about including people in the network who are younger than you – and maybe even younger than your child.

What Can People in Your Network Do?

There are many different options for what a network can do for your child and your family. It is different based on who is part of the network and, of course, on your child’s needs. Here are ideas from other parents on how they use their networks:

• Celebrate your child’s birthdays, graduations, and other accomplishments.
• Spend social time with your child.
• Find educational choices for your child.
• Help you find and manage caregivers or living arrangements.
• Help your child find work or volunteer work.
• Help keep your Letter of Intent (LOI) document up to date.

How Can You Form a Network?

These are some steps other parents have used to build a network:

• Come up with a list of people you trust and who might be interested.
• Email, call, or send them a letter to ask if they’d be interested in joining.
• Meet with interested people to agree on their roles and on what your network will do.
• Send formal invitations. Your child can help design and mail these so that they are involved in the process.
• Begin having regular meetings or get-togethers with members. These can be social, purely business, or a mixture. It really depends on you, your network, and what needs to get done.

At first, many of us might feel uncomfortable reaching out to ask people to join our network. If that’s the case, you can work with a network facilitator, and Texas Parent to Parent can help you find one.