Before Friendi was even an idea, I would attend the birthday parties of my next door neighbor. He was just a few years younger than me yet communicated very differently. However, I still treated him like any other friend. One year, he and his mother invited me to his Halloween party to which I agreed to go. When I arrived I was shocked to see no one else had shown up, even though I myself was already 30 minutes late. This, along with his mother’s frequent concerns about him “Not having enough friends” was the inspiration behind Friendi.

Fast forward a couple years and I was offered an opportunity to become my neighbors Autism Respite Worker. I was very intrigued in learning more about these children that I took the offer and worked with my neighbor every week for a number of years.

I decided to push myself further and was awarded a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology followed by a Master’s Degree in Counseling. During this time, I had acquired a very large amount of exposure to those with special needs. I learned how to better communicate and interact with them with the goal of enhancing their quality of life. To this day, I still counsel children of all needs and ages with this same goal.

I was invited to my neighbor’s annual birthday party and like always was very happy to go. During the party, I was talking to my neighbor’s Mother and learned about the challenges of trying to find friends for her child with special needs. It was at this point where the whole idea for Friendi was born.