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Special Needs in My City

Information updated on Saturday, November 26th 2022, 11:03
How to Contact the Provider
Contact email
[email protected]
Address
Modesto, CA
Web
https://specialneedsinmycity.org/
Services
Online Learning - blogs, resources, webinars, apps, telehealth
Online Social Network
Parent to Parent Support - Information, Referral, Mentoring
Support / Self Help Groups

Special Needs In My City is organized for the purpose of:

  • Providing timely and relevant information to families with developmental and intellectual challenges.
  • Conducting emotional and mental support sessions for parents and caregivers via online meetings and webinars.
  • Creating social connections for special needs parents and caregivers so their children have opportunities for friendships.

SNIMC supports these developmental challenges:

      • Developmental: Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, Dyslexia and processing disorders, Fragile X Syndrome, etc.
      • Physical: Cerebral Palsy, Epilepsy, Muscle Dystrophy, Multiple Sclerosis, etc.
      • Behavioral/Emotional: ADD/ADDHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, etc.
      • Sensory Processing Disorders/Impairment: Blind, Visually Impaired, Deaf and Limited hearing, etc.
      • No diagnosis but individual having developmental challenges.

SNIMC was established in April 2013 by Meena Tadimeti, a special needs parent in Modesto, California. After relocating to Modesto in 2009, Meena quickly realized that raising a child with multiple developmental challenges (Cerebral Palsy and Microcephaly) in a smaller town, with fewer resources was going to be even more difficult on the entire family. Compounding to this situation was not knowing about parent rights, how to exercise parent rights when advocating for her daughter at school, what local resources and events existed for her family and most importantly, how to get emotional support and connect with other parents in similar situations.

The tipping point came when her daughter, Divya, then 7 years old cried and said, ” I want a friend”.  Meena felt frustrated and helpless with not being able to help her daughter have social play with her peers.  She knew she had to act fast not just for her family but for countless of other parents in her community that were also experiencing such disheartening realities with their children. On that day, she decided she was going to change how special needs parents across communities get their information in a much faster and easier way than what existed in her community. Using her personal savings and financial support from her husband, and applying her years of marketing and IT skills and management experience founded Special Needs In My City,  a one-stop online resource for special needs families across communities.

In 2017, after four years and with over five hundred parent members and a small team of incredible volunteers, Meena decided to convert SNIMC from a private-led entity to a 501c3 nonprofit entity to expand and sustain the organization financially.

Today, Special Needs In My City, is a one-stop online resource offering information, parent  advocacy, emotional support and social connections for families.  SNIMC partners with various well-respected and highly committed organizations such Shriners Hospitals for Children in Sacramento (physicians) who simplify the medical jargon for families dealing with the complexities of special needs by answering parent questions via podcast.  Stanislaus Special Olympics who have supported the mission of SNIMC from its early years,  CASA of Stanislaus County (court appointed special advocates) who assists parents of SNIMC with parent advocacy in educational settings.

As of September 2020, SNIMC serves over eight hundred special needs families.  SNIMC continues to stay focused with its mission and vision and achieves its goals through a team of dedicated volunteers made up of parents, educators, community leaders, physicians and the individuals with special needs under the leadership of Meena Tadimeti and the Board of SNIMC.

Special Needs In My City conducts monthly parent support meetings on the last Thursdays of the month, with exceptions of October, November and December due to holidays. Due to continuing concerns of Covid-19 pandemic, we will continue to offer the meetings in live stream format on Zoom. Once we receive direction from the County Health Department regarding in person gathering regulation, we will resume to in-person and via live stream format for those who cannot attend in-person.

If you are a parent or a caregiver to a individual with special needs, please join our active and loving parent support group to feel supported, belonged and included on this special needs journey. 

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