Chances are if you have a child with a disability, you have heard of a program called Best Buddies. While their most common program is creating friendships with people with disabilities and their peers, Best Buddies has several programs geared towards helping people with disabilities all over the world.

Best Buddies

What is Best Buddies?

Taken from their website, Best Buddies describes themselves as a, “nonprofit that is dedicated to establishing a global volunteer movement that creates opportunities for one-to-one friendships, integrated employment, leadership development, and inclusive living for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.”

As stated above, Best Buddies has four pillars to their organization. Learning about each one can help you as a parent take advantage of the amazing opportunities Best Buddies is striving to create.

One-to-One Friendships

This is perhaps the most well known program that Best Buddies offers. Best Buddies connects people with and without disabilities together to form meaningful friendships. In their program Best Buddies has 5 different one-to-one friendships.

Best Buddies Middle Schools focuses on the shared interests and activities that people with and without disabilities share. They aim to help “create an inclusive middle school culture for all students early on in their educational development.”

Best Buddies High Schools helps people with disabilities navigate through the social and emotional development that typically occurs during high school.

Best Buddies Colleges aims to connect people with disabilities with their local campus and community life. This is a time frame that people with disabilities are usually isolated at home or at work.

Best Buddies Citizens helps people with disabilities stay connected after their school environment has ended. Most of the social interactions people with disabilities occur when they are in a school setting. This program specifically seeks out those who are no longer in school and helps integrate them in the community and keep special relationships.

E-Buddies is a place online for people with and without disabilities to interact together. Best Buddies provides a safe environment for those who feel more comfortable communicating with their friends through technology. This can also help those with disabilities gain computer skills and help navigate future online social situations.

Integrated Employment

Best Buddies jobs “matches skills and qualified individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) with businesses seeking enthusiastic and dedicated employees. Through the jobs program, Best Buddies develops partnerships with employers, assists with the hiring process and provides ongoing support to the employee and employer.”

Leadership Development

This aspect of the Best Buddies organizations works to educate and empower people with IDD to become leaders, public speakers and advocates.

There are two programs within the leadership development aspect of Best Buddies. Best Buddies Ambassadors and Best Buddies Promoters. The Ambassadors “offers people with and without IDD the opportunity to gain the public speaking skills, self-esteem and confidence needed to successfully advocate for themselves, their peers and Best Buddies communities, workplaces and government.”

Best Buddies Promoters “Empowers youth to become advocates for people with IDD and help open new Best Buddies chapters and programs by organizing special events that promote awareness to the disability right movement.”

Inclusive Living

Through this program Best Buddies “fosters an integrated experience for people with and without IDD to become active, contributing citizens who live independently in a dynamic environment where they can learn, grow and thrive.” 

Currently there is one living residence operated by Best Buddies in Washington D.C.

Why Best Buddies Matter

Best Buddies is helping provide a way for people to learn how to interact, advocate and work with people with disabilities. Many times people without disabilities want to help but are not aware how. 

The more people use programs such as Best Buddies the closer the disability community can aim for inclusion, advocacy and change from our world.