A new, inclusive community is growing online, helping users to connect with new friends – and soon, with potential employers as well!
It’s called Kaboose, and it’s a safe space for young neurodivergent people. We recently chatted with community founder Michelle Risdale to learn more about it.
What is Kaboose and what does it do?
Kaboose is an app for the autistic and neurodivergent community to find friends with the same interests. It’s where young people with autism can build tribes and chat to their tribe. Its future features include the ability to find mentors and jobs.
Our overall aim is to improve mental health and connectedness, through friendships and employment.
What ages is Kaboose for?
We have a space for under 16s (we have users around seven to eight years old with parental support, and where the chat can be moderated by parents) and then over 16 and up to 30. We also have a space for parents/caregivers.
How is Kaboose working to increase social connection online and in real life?
At Kaboose, we are matching people based on their special interests, age, and location. We encourage in real life – or IRL – meet ups when safe to do so and with parental approval, where required. Many people in our community prefer to start their interactions online, but some want to move these friendships to in-person, and we definitely encourage both.
Kaboose launched in 2021 – two years after the global pandemic started. Did that in any way influence your decision to start Kaboose, and why?
The Kaboose idea initially started as Gecko Hangouts – an in-person social group focused on work readiness. This was prior to the pandemic. However, it was difficult to scale, and with the pandemic, it became obvious that an online solution would work better for our community.
Social isolation and loneliness significantly increased during the pandemic, along with deteriorating mental health, which I think shone a light on what was already an increasing issue for our community.
What can someone expect when they go on Kaboose, and how is it different from other social media sites?
Kaboose is a safe social platform. Unlike other social platforms, Kaboose requires all users to be fully verified. When a person signs up, they need to provide some basic information about their location, age and special interests in order to be matched with the right people.
To keep our community safe, we ask that everyone is verified so our members know they are talking to the person who has signed up. This means that whoever is signing up needs to provide their ID and a short five second video of themselves holding it.
We don’t store any of these documents, and once a profile is verified, these documents are automatically deleted. We also have the ability for parents to moderate the chats of our younger members.
Kaboose is built for young people with autism. How is it helping its users establish a foundation for adulthood that someone without social support may not have?
Many people in our community have not been able to find the right support or have the ability to find their tribe due to bullying and social isolation in their education setting. Sometimes attending groups can also be overwhelming, which leaves the neurodivergent community unable to find friends and practice their social skills in a safe environment.
Autism underemployment is sitting at 31.6 per cent, which is six times higher than unemployment for those without a disability, and three times higher than unemployment for those with other disabilities. While there are many contributing factors to unemployment, we believe that through building social skills, networks and matching with the right mentors and job opportunities, Kaboose can go some way towards reducing this significant gap.
With multiple offerings – finding friends, finding support, and finding employment for young people – there are a lot of moving parts at Kaboose. Can you tell us how you manage it all as a startup?
It is tricky at times! While I’ve worked in a lot of startups, this is my first startup.
I’m very fortunate to have experienced mentors guiding me, and I’m focusing on one feature at a time. For now, we’re all about finding friends and building a tribe based on special interests, and once our community develops further, we will be able to release the mentor and job matching features.
As the founder, I am extremely passionate about making a positive impact on the life outcomes of this community and welcome feedback and questions as we continue to build Kaboose.
As the parent of a child with autism and a volunteer within the disability space with a background in the tech industry, it seems like you had the perfect combination of knowledge, experience, and passion to start Kaboose. Can you tell us about that?
My professional background has been in HR and strategic people management, including recruitment within professional services and the tech industry. I’ve also been involved in diversity and inclusion initiatives within various organisations.
As part of my volunteer roles, I’ve been exposed to the challenges our young people face with their mental health, and in building the social skills necessary to find employment. After seeing my son struggle finding friends as a teenager, and then – as he got older – with accessing employment, I decided to combine my skills of connecting and employing people to build Kaboose.
To find out more about Kaboose and to download the app, visit www.kaboose.app.
