A WhatsApp group has a become a lifeline for Brazilian parents of children with disabilities
Instead of accepting defeat, Bessa turned to her fellow immigrants whose children also had disabilities. She crowdsourced help in a five-member group chat on WhatsApp she nicknamed “Super Special Parents.”
A decade later, “Super Special Parents” has more than 500 participating families, making it the state’s largest support network for Brazilians whose children have disabilities. The hyper-organized group chat requires prospective members to fill out a form and get approval to join.
“I became a trailblazer,” said Bessa, who lives in Northborough, “so that other Brazilian parents wouldn’t have to work as hard as I did to figure it all out.”
Immigrants have long relied on informal networks to support newcomers from their home countries, but community-run support systems have become increasingly important. National assistance has largely ceased as President Trump’s crackdown on immigration has created a hostile environment for people from other countries.
At the same time, tight budgets have reduced resources for special education, making it harder for parents of children with disabilities to get services guaranteed under state and federal law.
Run by nine volunteers, the chat network provides crash courses on special education laws, events, and emotional support for parents fighting for the most vulnerable children.
New arrivals who don’t speak English often face delays in obtaining services for their children at public schools, said Brazilian special education advocate Angelica Bachour.
Challenges include having to translate English-language forms and spending twice as long with school administrators because of language barriers. Translators provided by the school are often unqualified, Bachour said, and fail to give parents correct information.
Schools lean into these delays to “buy time” before providing costly services such as speech therapy, said Debora Curella, who until recently did outreach for the Federation of Children with Special Needs.
“Parents need to walk into the school system here,” Curella said, “already knowing how it all works or they won’t get what they need for their child.”
School administrators have defended their handling of special education and have noted that tight budgets have limited resources.
Federal law guarantees that all children have access to a public education regardless of immigration status or disability. And last year Massachusetts went a step further, passing a law to prevent discrimination against such children in public schools.
Brazilians are the largest immigrant group in the state, according to the Massachusetts Immigrant & Refugee Advocacy Coalition. The US Census Bureau estimates there are more than 100,000 Brazilians here, although the Brazilian government says there are more than 390,000, making Massachusetts home to one of the largest community of Brazilian immigrants in the world.
Super Special Parents provides supports to Brazilians in their native language so they are equipped with information about schools from the get-go.
Cintia Soares, a 43-three-year-old mother from southeast Brazil, said Super Special Parents was invaluable when she immigrated to Massachusetts three years ago in search of a better life for her son Daniel, who has autism.
“The group saved me,” Soares said. “I was so clueless when I moved here, I didn’t even know how to apply for health insurance.”
When she joined, Soares received a private message from volunteer Alessandra Almeida to schedule a one-on-one chat. Almeida did more than guide Soares as she secured services for Daniel at his public school in Marlborough. She found Soares a home to rent and helped land a job for her husband.
“The group became my family,” Soares said.
The Super Special Parents chat sticks to its mission. Members aren’t allowed to discuss politics or current events, and moderators resolve conflicts and keep the focus on support for children with disabilities. Each of the nine volunteers has a designated role, such as welcoming a new parent into the group or finding sponsors to host their annual events.
Beyond providing nuts-and-bolts help for parents of children with disabilities, Super Special Parents has also become a retreat within the larger Brazilian community.
Almeida, the Super Special Parents volunteer, was one of the first to join the chat when it was created 10 years ago. The group allowed her to escape the judgment she felt from other Brazilian parents who didn’t have a child with a disability.
When she first arrived two decades ago, Almeida felt left out when mothers of typically developing children suddenly stopped inviting her autistic son to birthday parties. But at cookouts and the annual Christmas party hosted by Super Special Parents, Almeida said she found “a place where I could be myself.”
There are other groups for parents that focus on specific communities. The Autism Alliance hosts a monthly in-person gathering for Brazilian families with autistic children.
Still Pam McKillop, outreach director for Autism Alliance, said Super Special Parents is unique. It is open to parents of children with every type of disability, and it has given Brazilian families “a real community of their own.”
Andressa Costa, a doctor who moved to Massachusetts from Brazil to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, found life-long friends and a new purpose in Super Special Parents.
Costa initially joined eight years ago seeking support for her autistic son. Now, she is developing a culinary program for autistic children that can be used by others in the community. The initiative uses playful solutions to introduce healthy foods that autistic children often reject.
But volunteers acknowledge that running a large chat is challenging. It is time consuming, no one gets paid to do the work, and burnout is common.
Bessa knows the group needs more structure and dreams of turning it into a nonprofit with paid staff. But she lacks the resources and time to get that done.
For now, Bessa said she hopes Super Special Parents will continue giving others access to the same opportunities she secured for her daughter, now a joyful 11-year-old who enjoys sunbathing at the pool. Anna Luiza is thriving at the Kennedy Day School, a program for children who face complex developmental challenges.
“I want to keep helping the Brazilian community,” Bessa said, “so they can access all the great things that this state has offered my child.”
Mariana Simões can be reached at mariana.simoes@globe.com. Follow her on X @MariRebuaSimoes.