Our Philosophy

As the mother of two daughters, one with learning disabilities and one without, I understand the social challenges and limitations inherent with learning disabilities. Unfortunately, social opportunities are limited for my daughter with learning disabilities because she does not drive to many places, have access to meeting new friends, or work in an environment with young adults from her peer group. She lives at home while her younger sister is in college.

We have observed that when our daughter with learning disabilities is included in social situations with her sister and college friends, she is very quiet and not herself. Furthermore, she often seems invisible when she is around our extended family and friends. However, when she is with her friends with learning disabilities, she is talkative, animated, happy, and appears to be more comfortable expressing herself.

With my daughter’s help, we have created an online social network called “Bridging Hearts” for young adults with learning disabilities. The goal of Bridging Hearts is to encourage new friendships and create comfortable and appropriate social opportunities. The site will not only provide these young adults with a communication channel, but allow them to meet others with learning disabilities. Furthermore, due to our screening process, they will not have to be concerned about disclosure or judgment about their learning disability. The service will only be offered to people living in the Twin Cities and surrounding area allowing them to meet in person. Planned activities will also be offered.

After contacting us, each individual will be interviewed in their home. Parents will also have an opportunity to meet with us and ask questions. If the individual is interested and meets the membership criteria, he or she can join the network. There is a fee for membership. Please see “Membership” for details.

Our hope is that our services can build a network where young adults with learning disabilities have an opportunity to form new and lasting friendships. They will be able to do this on their own with limited parental involvement. With a web site, encouragement, and shared recreation, they can overcome some of the challenges in forming and sustaining relationships.

Denise Martin-Nauman
Bridging Hearts, LLC