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NewsRSSWednesday, April 22, 2026 · 3 days ago

Tips for finding friends and growing your friendship caregiving team

WHY IT MATTERS

For adults with SMA seeking independence, learning practical strategies to recruit and coordinate volunteer caregivers from your social network can make living on your own financially and socially sustainable.

An adult with SMA (spinal muscular atrophy) who lives independently shares insights about how they built a caregiving team of over 20 volunteer friends instead of relying on paid professional caregivers. The article discusses strategies for finding and organizing friends to help with daily care needs, challenging the assumption that people with serious disabilities must use traditional caregiving services.

I am an adult with SMA who lives independently, so when people learn that most of my caregiving happens through 20-plus volunteer friends, they tend to be a bit flabbergasted. “How?” is the common and predictable question. I’m not someone who loves how-to articles or self-help books, because I don’t think there is a formula […] The post Tips for finding friends and growing your friendship caregiving team appeared first on SMA News Today .

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Related conditions

Spinal muscular atrophy associated with central nervous system anomalySpinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 2Spinal muscular atrophy with respiratory distress type 1