Special Friends
For People with Learning/Intellectual Difficulties & their Carers

After registering with Special Friends we advise you to click “Find Friends” on the left hand side. In there you will see lots of members who would love to hear from you. When you have found a person that you would like to become friends with:

Click on the pink “Make My Friend” button. A message will automatically be sent to their Inbox asking them to be your friend. When this person has accepted the request they will be added to “My Friends” on the left hand side. (Do not expect a reply immediately unless that person is online, it may take several hours or even a day or two)

When a member has asked you to be their friend, you will receive a message in your Inbox which will say “Be my Special Friend”. To check your messages, click “Inbox” on the left hand side. Open the message and accept the invitation. This person will now be listed in “My Friends” which is listed on the left hand side.

 

Smiley Talk is a unique method of communicating with someone who is online by using pre-listed questions & answers. This is very useful if you have problems using the keyboard or find it difficult to think of things to say.

First click “My Friends” on the left then click on a member who is online. (You can see if a member is online by their profile picture. It will show a small “Online” banner). After clicking on their profile, click “Smiley Talk” on the right and this will send an invite. A new window will open and when the other member accepts your invite you can begin to use Smiley Talk!

When a member invites you to Smiley Talk, a pop-up will appear at the bottom right. If you accept the request a new box will open and you can begin to use Smiley Talk!

 

Smiley Talk is very easy to use. On the right hand side you will see several smiley faces. When you click on one of these smiley faces it will show a list of questions. Each response is sorted into a category. Once you have chosen a response, select it and click the pink “Send” button. The response will be listed on the left hand side and then it’s their turn to choose. You then take it in turns to send a message to each other. If you wish to leave Smiley Talk it is always nice to select the goodbye options before exiting.

 

The chat room is a place to chat instantly with other members and meet new people and make new friends. To use the Chatroom:

1. Click “Chatroom” on the left hand side.
2. Under General Chat click the pink “Enter Room” button to join.
3. This will open a chat window. Members currently in the chat room are listed on the right and when they

    are typing a message, names will appear in bold.
4. To chat, type your message in the small box at the bottom and click the pink “Send” button.
5. Your message will then appear in the box above (Chat Log).
6. If you wish to leave the chat room click the pink “Leave Chatroom” button or close the box manually.

 

 

You can view this page by clicking “My Homepage” on the left hand side. This page will display “My Wall”. My wall is used to keep an update of what your friends are currently doing. It may display a new friendship, a new status update, or notify you that a friend has added new pictures.

You may also notice the “Today I am...” area. This will allow you to post status updates which let your friends know what you are doing. This will appear on your friend’s walls to view.

 

 

The forum is a place for our members to discuss ideas, give suggestions, ask any questions they have and discuss plenty of topics.

To use the forum click “Forum” on the left hand side. You may notice the following at the top:

Topic – This is the subject being discussed.
Post – This is how many members have written something on the topic.
Last Post – This is the date of the last post.

If you want to write a new topic, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the pink “New Topic” button and then add your subject and the message below. This will then appear on the front page and other members can join in and discuss your topic.

If you would like to add a comment to a topic which is already posted, click on it and move to the bottom of the page. You will see a box under “Leave Your Comments”. Write what you would like to post and click the “Post” button. Your comments will now be added to that topic.

 

To add a picture click “My Album” on the left hand side. If you do not have an album yet you will need to create one. Click “Add New Album” and give it a name, then click “Save” on the right. Your album should now be created. Click the album. Next you need to click “Add Photo” on the right and click the “Browse” button at the bottom of the screen and select a picture you would like to add and then click “Save” on the right. (To do this you must have photos saved on your computer)

You can create multiple albums by first clicking “My Album” and then clicking “Add new Album” on the right.

You can now make any adjustments to the picture. If you click and drag the mouse on the image you can create a boarder. Only the image inside this box will be viewable when you save it. This is useful for example if there is a group photo and you would like to just have yourself visible. Once your happy click “Save” on the right. To add multiple photos just repeat the same steps again.

Now you have some photo’s uploaded it’s time to select one as your profile picture. To do so click “My Album” on the left and then click on an album. You can scroll through your photographs using the arrows at the side of each picture. Once you have found a picture that you want to use click “Use for Profile Pic”. This will now be displayed as your Profile picture. You can also select the album cover picture by clicking “Set as Album Cover”.

To delete a photo first click on “My Album” on the left hand side. Now you need to select the album which has the photo you want to delete. Use the arrows to move through each picture. When you have found the picture you wish to remove click “Remove Photo” on the right hand side. It will ask you to confirm. If you select yes the picture will be removed from your account.

 

 

Your profile is split up into 4 different sections. They are:

About Me – This section displays things such as your name, hobbies, heroes etc.
Wall – This area displays all your recent status updates and any new friendships.
My Photos – This displays all your pictures uploaded to your profile.
My Friends – This page displays all your friends.

 

You may wish to edit your profile at any point. To do so click “Edit My Profile” on the right hand side. There are four sections which are available to edit, which are:

Personal Info – The majority of information is locked down in this section for your safety & security. If you wish to change anything that is locked down you will need to contact an administrator.
My Interests - Here you can add/delete any information. We encourage you to write as much as you can as members will enjoy reading it.
Privacy – There are a number tick box options in this section. If the boxes are ticked you are giving permission to allow it. For example you may wish to not share your photos with members you are not friends with. You would just need to un-tick the box and click the pink “Save” button.
Password – In this section you can change your current password. Please remember your new password as you will need it to login next time. If you ever forget your password please contact a member of staff.

 

 

To find our games area you need to click on the “Fun” tab at the top right of the page. This will take you to our jokes page. To play our games click our “Games” link on the left hand side. Keep a eye on this page as more and more games will be added.

 

Click the “Heroes & Stars” tab at the top. This area is split into two sections:

Heroes – Our Heroes are people who have an inspirational story to share. To view our Heroes click the “Heroes Gallery” button on the left hand side.
Stars – Our Stars are members who would like to share their interests with others members. To view our Stars click the “Stars Gallery” button on the left hand side.

If you want to become a star or if you have an inspirational story to share please contact us.

 

If you ever receive a message that you are not happy with, click the pink “Report” button. These buttons are placed throughout Special Friends (Chat room, Messaging, 1-2-1 chat). A moderator will then get in touch shortly to try and deal with the problem.

If you are unhappy with another member and you do not want to message or chat with them, hit the “Block Member” button to stop them contacting you again. To do this you need to visit their profile page and the option will be on the right hand side. You can also unblock that person using the same method.

If there is a person listed in “My Friends” and you are not happy that they are there you can click the pink “Remove Friend” button to delete them from your page. To re-add them you will need to visit their profile page or view “Find Friends”.

 

We are always happy to speak to our members. If you have any questions or you would like to discuss any problems there are a number of ways to get in touch. The easiest is to visit our Contact Us page.

 

A recent feature we have added is the padlock. The padlock has been added as a way to encourage safety and responsibility, particularly for our younger members and can be used to lock down the chat room, 1-2-1 chat & messaging.

Click on “Lock Access” on the lower left hand side. This will bring up a page lock section. From here you are able to lock down messages and/or chat. Once you have chosen what to lock, click the pink “Save” button. This will now prevent access to any of those sections. To access these areas again you need to enter the account password. This facility is more aimed towards a parent who while away from the computer doesn’t want their child to use chat/messaging.

 

The “What’s On” section works similar to the Forum. This section is designed to keep members up to date with any future events around the globe. If you have anything you would like to add a new notice scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the pink “Post a Notice” button. You then fill in all the information and once complete click the “Post” button to make it viewable. Please note -Depending on the date of the event, it may not be listed right at the top of the list.

The “About” section is a place for you to learn about the history of Special Friends, our team, safety policies, terms & conditions and more. To view this part of our site, click the “About” button at the top. You can then use the menu on the left hand side to move through the pages.