My Latest Project for Bionews

Since starting my full-time position here at SMA News Today, I’ve had the opportunity to take part in several multimedia projects. The podcast I do for this site is one of my favorite parts of my job, as I’m always fascinated to talk with other SMA individuals and hear their stories.

Now, my team and I are excited to launch a new set of forums on the site this month. The SMA News Today forums are designed for our readers to have an easier way to connect with each other and ask questions related to SMA. Currently, we have seven forums that each focus on a different topic. The topics are as follows: diagnosis and general questions, parents and caregivers, adults with SMA, teens with SMA, college and SMA, SMA and dating/relationships, and Spinraza. We also have groups for SMA patients, parents and caregivers, and medical professionals.

As an SMA individual, I love how easy it is today to connect with other people in the SMA community from around the world. Between Facebook groups, Twitter, blogs, and forums like the one I’ve helped develop, there’s never been an easier time to reach out to other people who understand life with SMA. More information is available than ever before, and with this set of forums, we hope to make it even easier for our audience to feel more connected and to be able to get the information they need.

It’s my hope, too, that this forum will be a platform for people to build relationships with each other. As great as the annual Cure SMA conference is, I recognize that traveling isn’t an option for some families and individuals. With these forums, people are able to talk with others in the SMA community from the comfort of their own homes.

Additionally, we’ve structured the forums so that people know which one to go to based on whether they’re a patient, medical professional, or a caregiver and what it is they want to discuss. For parents of newly diagnosed children, the diagnosis forum is a great place to go to. If you’re an adult with SMA who’s looking for work or already have a career, the SMA adults forum is the place for you. Then, for general questions or personal experiences related to Spinraza, we have a separate forum that’s specifically about this treatment.

This is a project we’re working on replicating across the other Bionews websites, and as such, we’d love to build an audience for this project here on SMA News Today right away. This is an ideal online network for SMA teens, adults, parents, medical professionals, and caregivers, and we hope all of our readers out there will come and be a part of it.

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Note: SMA News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website. The opinions expressed in this column are not those of SMA News Today or its parent company, Bionews Services, and are intended to spark discussion about issues pertaining to spinal muscular atrophy.