Is there an organisation that links children with special needs to those without?

[Stangirl]

Recently I have read/seen a few things that has really made me want to ensure that my kids (and me) socialise more with parents of children with SN and with the children themselves.

I was down the local playground and spotted a child with what appeared to be a rare condition - the one that makes a child appear like a very old person. I noticed that her carer was walking her around but that other parents were pulling their children out of her way and there was none of the usual smiling or banter between the adults. I realised that this was probably something to do with parents not wanting their LOs to point or ask a difficult question that might be hurtful but then thought that the girl and her Mum must have v isolated lives because this was probably always happening.

When my DD was playing near the little girl I directed her attention to her (something I do regularly anyway - always on the look out for playmates) and suggested she go and say "hello". She did and I struck up a conversation with the Mum. The Mum seemed a bit stunned first of all that someone was speaking to her but we then did the usual chat about child names/ages/isn't-it-better-here-when-the-schools-are-open. I suggested that our 2 daughters could go down the double slide together but she explained that due to her daughter not having strong musculature she had to go down with her - so we left it. We parted after 10mins but I was left with a real sadness for this lady and her daughter. I haven't seen her since but next time if she isn't too spooked I'm going to suggest we go for a coffee nearby for a sit down and let the girls have a little play.

I was also very moved by a thread on here a while back about cruel things that have happened/been said to children with SN. One poster said she had a sister with SN and all she had ever wanted was to have a friend to go to the cinema with.

There's also a current thread about the difficulty one woman is having staying friends with someone who has a DS with autism.

All this has really made me want to reach out and help provide some support/friendliness/socialising for families of those with SN and would be grateful if anyone could advise how I might do this. I don't want to be patronising. I just want to make people feel better (old hippy).