WHAT IS eSpecialMatch.com?

eSpecialMatch.com is a social network for families and individuals with special needs, as well as the professionals that serve the special needs community.  The goals of eSpecialMatch.com are to:

1. Create a community where families can find information, support, friendship, and appropriate peers for their children.
2. Connect families with service providers (therapists, doctors, etc.).
3. Help service providers connect with others in their field and across fields for professional development.
4. Help adults with special needs connect with each other.  (Adults must be over age 18 and have legal guardianship).

WHO CAN USE eSpecialMatch.com?

1. Family members or acquaintances (over the age of 18) of individuals with special needs.
2. Organizations, businesses, educators, and therapists that serve the special needs community.
3. Adults with special needs. (Must be over age 18 and have legal guardianship.)

HOW DO I CREATE A PROFILE?

1. Go to the Create An Account link on the home page.
2. Choose your profile type
   1. Parent/Family Member
   2. Professional
   3. Adult with special needs
   4. I know someone with special needs
3. Fill out the required information.
4. Choose the way in which you would like to be contacted
   1. Members can contact me at any time - this means that members can email you and add you to their friend list any time.
   2. Send me an email when a member is interested in contacting me - this means you will be sent an email that requires your approval before the member can be added to your friend list.
   3. Once the member is added to your friend list you can contact each other at any time.
5. Choose how your information is displayed
   1. Public - in addition to your friends, your profile information will be displayed to non-members and members that are not yet on your friend list. (Note: it is easier to make connections with other families and professionals if your profile is public.)
   2. Private - your profile information will only be displayed to your friends.
6. Input the CASE sensitive code.

HOW DO I PERSONALIZE MY PROFILE?

Change your profile details by going to the My Profile link and clicking the following:

1.    Change Profile Picture allows you to change your avatar

2.    Edit Profile allows you to change your profile type and contact info.

3.    Edit Details allows you to change your username, password, as well as associate your Facebook login.

4.    Privacy allows you to manage who can view your profile as well as turn your email notifications on and off.

5.    Preferences allows you to change the number of activities listed on your profile page.

6.    Upload Photos

a.    If you wish to create a new album click All Photos, then Create An Album

b.    If you want to add photos to an existing album, click the album name

7.    Add Video

a.    There are two ways you can add a video.  You can either link it to the URL of a website (such as YouTube), or you can upload it directly to eSpecialMatch.com. 

b.    Click the Add Video link and follow the instructions.

8.    Add Applications

a.    Wall adds a Facebook-style comment wall to your profile

b.   Twitter Updates posts your Tweets to your profile

c.    Username allows you to personalize your URL (eSpecialMatch.com/Username)

9.    Facebook Connect (under Edit Details)

a.    Facebook Connect allows you to import your Facebook Avatar (profile picture), status and wall updates.  When Facebook Connect is set up, any updates you post on eSpecialMatch.com will update to your Facebook account as well.

10. Start a New Group - Groups are ways to invite other members to chat about specific topics

a.    Click the Start a New Group link

b.    Choose a Group Name, write a Description, etc. 

c.    Under Applications you can find your groups as well as other groups

d.    To invite friends to your group, click the group name and follow the instructions

HOW DO I SEARCH THE COMMUNITY AND FIND FRIENDS?

1. Go to the Community Search section on the Community home tab.
2. Add the criteria you are looking for (you can add as many as you'd like)
   1. Match all criteria means that all of the items you have selected will be present in the user profiles that show up
   2. Match any criteria means that the profiles that show up will have one or more of the criteria you selected
   3. To search a profile type:
      1. Choose Profile type as a criteria
      2. Choose Equals
      3. Then type either Parent/Family member, Professional, Adult with special needs, or I know someone with special needs 
3. If you would like to become friends with someone, click Add As Friend
4. Under your Friends tab you can see requests you have sent as well as request that are pending your approval

WHAT IS “Friend Suggest”?

eSpecialMatch.com wants to help make the process of connecting with people as easy as possible for you!  That's why we've added this feature which suggests potential friends based on your member info including the state you live in, interests, profession, and child diagnosis

To add the suggested member as a friend, just click Add As Friend

CAN I INVITE FRIENDS FROM MY PERSONAL CONTACT LIST?

Yes! We encourage members to share eSpecialMatch.com with their contacts

1. Go to the Invite Friends link
2. Type the email addresses into the address section
3. Add a message and they will receive an email from you

HOW DO I SEARCH eSpecialMatch.com?

The search bar in the upper right hand corner will search articles, blogs, and forum posts for the key words that you enter.  However, it will not search for members.  To find other members, you must go to the Community tab.

HOW DO I USE THE FORUM?

1.  On the Forum tab, locate the appropriate heading that you would like to comment on or create a forum discussion about (for example, Families) 

2.  Then choose a sub-category in red (such as Education)

3.  Under this sub-category there are various topics.  You can either:

a.    Add a New Topic by clicking on the New Topic icon – select a subject and write a description to begin the discussion

b.    Comment on a topic by clicking on the topic in red.

HOW DO I POST AN EVENT? 

1. Go to the Events tab
2. Click the Add An Event link in the bottom left hand of the screen
3. Choose who can view your event
   1. Public – Members and non-members
   2. Registered – Members only
   3. Special - Only members who are on your friend list
4. Once the administrator accepts the information, the event will be posted.
5. You can share your event by clicking the envelope icon.
6. To search for an event, click the Search Events link.  You can search by keywords or by state.  To search by state, make sure you type the full name in (i.e. New York).

HOW DO I POST A REVIEW?

1. Click My Reviews in your profile or go the Review tab on the home page

2. Fill in the information and hit Add Review

3. Once the administrator accepts the information, the review will be posted

A blog, short for web log, is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended to be read by the public. Creating a blog is a great way to share your thoughts and experiences, or promote your cause, business or organization through online dialogue.  To create a blog, just go to the My Blog tab and follow the instructions.