Reach out and Chat with Someone

People in general are social animals, interaction with others on a daily basis is important for our well being, but the reality is sometimes those of us with disabilities have difficulty with the "getting out and socializing" part of the equation. I suspect it could be more difficult for those of us who develop disabilities later in life as we see our more able bodied friends drifting off to the side because we can't be as active as we once were.

Patient support groups are a unique resource to develop new friendships with people who share the same limitations you might have, but what if there isn't one handy in your neighbourhood? Internet RealTime Chat rooms are a big boom for those of us who need more opportunities to interact and socialize with others. Now I'm sure you've all heard the horror stories on the talk shows about this particular aspect of the Net, and many of them are not unfounded. The trick is to find a well run, safe and supportive chat room, operated by trained channel operators that prevent the mishaps you've no doubt heard about on Jerry Springer's show. Having experienced chatroom staff makes a significant difference in your chat environment enjoyment. These people are trained to help make your transition from a "chat newbie" to an "old timer" an easy and painless process. They know how important it is for you to understand the chat environment and have no difficulty answering what you might think of as a dumb question's, they answer them everyday for people just like you, just starting out on the adventure of online chat. Remember everyone was a "newbie" once, you have to start someplace!

The Disability Network runs an excellent chat room presently located on the Talk City Network (they are however in the process of moving this room to another network that has more stability). This particular chat room has been operating for over a year now and is properly manned with trained channel operators. It operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The visitors to this room have a variety of medical conditions and disabilities, so it's not a disability specific room. The focus of this room is caring, friendship, and support. People here tend to put the emphasis on friendship and social interaction rather than comparing medical stories, although if you are having a bad day and need to talk about it no one will have a problem listening and supporting you! This chat room is both computer and webtv friendly.

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