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have the computer in a special stand over their bed. Others have their computer connected to a large TV screen on the wall. Together they are working on improving the quality of their life and to raise awareness for especially sitting disability in several languages around the world. The owner of the board is running the group by using speech recognition software from her bed.
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91:. Three Norwegian women now run the board together with American and Norwegian moderators. It is the only online support group for people with chronic pain that is based on both the English and the Norwegian language. The members are from all over the world. It is a typical international volunteer project that would not be possible if it weren't for the Internet.
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Self-help groups are usually organized and managed by their members, usually volunteers and not professionals. Friends
International is also run by volunteers and not professionals. It is however organized and moderated by experienced administrators with a declared corrective moderation policy. The
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Friends international is an online forum connecting people that otherwise would have been isolated in their home. To be able to connect the members are using the
Internet tools which includes using headsets and speech recognition software instead of keyboard and computer mouse. Some of them need to
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Common discussion topics include medical information, coping strategies and personal experience related to chronic pain and similar illness and individual support for people in their daily struggle. People living with disabling chronic pain often feel overwhelmed, isolated, and discouraged. Many of
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Humor and positive thinking have become an important part of the group's philosophy and attitude. New members are encouraged to educate themselves about their own disease and to take charge of their own life. The message board is divided in an
English-speaking part and a Norwegian speaking part.
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with more than 2 million visits, around 200,000 posts since its founding in 2001 and average 800 new posts a week. The board is connecting disabled people around the world, that otherwise would have lived an isolated life. Together they have raised awareness of chronic pain and especially
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moderators are using a staff room combined with instant communication tools to discuss any problems or questions concerning the group.
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On May 19, 2008, Friends
International Support Group was registered as a volunteer organization in the Norwegian register called
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was created April 18, 2001, by Mosken Bergh in Norway and Linda Jones. It was a volunteer joint effort between an
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The international online support project created by Mosken Bergh and Linda Jones, has been mentioned by
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146:• The group is based on active participation, not on the role of a passive recipient.
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Both parts are divided into one smalltalk section and a coping and illness section.
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message board software, in which members support each other while living with
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On April 10, 2007, Friends
International officially moved from ezBoard to
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was created from a revision of this article dated 20 June 2019
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A screenshot of the
Norwegian section of the friends message board
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the members suffer from reduced ability to sit, also called
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The support group is based on the "Pillars of self-help":
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64:that used to be an unrecognized disability.
190:and the article in the Norwegian newspaper
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20:A screenshot of the friends message board
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87:while both lived with disabling
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174:at the Norwegian national TV
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