Chances are you know someone who has special needs, as nearly 54 million Americans cope with these challenges everyday.  While this statistic is large, the driving reason for me is personal.  My beautiful, kind and loving nephew has special needs and his parents work hard everyday to provide a caring and fulfilling life for him.  Through trial and error, my sister and her husband search for places that are "special-needs friendly".  Whether it's a restaurant, doctor's office, barber, etc., the process can be stressful and frustrating.  What I’ve come to understand is that many families don't feel comfortable venturing out with their special needs family member.  I'm sure you can appreciate how isolating this can be.  For example, not knowing whether a restaurant will accept a request to change to a menu item, or consider lowering the volume of the music can preclude them from being able to participate in many of the things that many of us take for granted.        

I believe Yelp can provide the answer to this problem.  By creating a filter that gives companies the opportunity to identify themselves as being “special needs friendly”, they would be giving 54 million people the confidence and information they need.  

Please sign my petition calling for Yelp to add filters to help special needs individuals and families.