Why We Started
We started The Shoda to connect a community of neurodiverse people like you who find it difficult to establish relationships in friendships and dating.
This site is run by parents with a neuro-diverse adult child, not a corporation.
What makes The Shoda different is the emphasis on finding people for friendship and dating who live in your local area so you can get out of the house and enjoy your surroundings together. You also have the ability to build online friends and communities to share thoughts and ideas.
Many of you work with agencies to help navigate life and social skills, but these agencies rarely talk to each other to help connect adults looking for friendship and dating whose interests and proximity line up.
Now there is a place for these agencies and individuals alike to turn to, as The Shoda has the ability to match your shared interests. Or maybe you’d like expand your world to connect with people who have interests in topics you’d like to learn more about to expand your social network and find people to share your life with.
How We Are Different
This site isn’t open to just anyone. People on the site must be referred through an agency to ensure you are meeting someone who is 100% who they say they are, eliminating the stress for you and concerns from your friends and family.
By having a central location for agencies such as, Regional Centers, Department of Rehab, or others professionals, that work with neurotypicals there is now a much larger community for you to join and meet new people.
So what do you need to do to get started?
It all starts with Who Are You? Filling out the questionnaire with your interests lets people know exactly what you care about the most.
Answer some basic questions to create a profile that uniquely described you and your personality to narrow down people who meet your criteria then review profiled of people that are the right match for you to grow new friendships or a dating relationship.
Be sure to read profiles carefully, and get input form people working with you, friends, and/or family. When you have found people you’d like to connect with, ask questions of each other before deciding to meet up.