When Robert Stoops needed inspiration for his Web site’s name, he found it in his oldest son MacLaughlin, who has autism, and in the movie Hercules.

The national site, www.specialMUSE.com, helps those with special needs find the services they need within their own community. Stoops wanted a name that would be creative and appeal to a broad audience.

“The first word, ‘special,’ is what it’s all about. Then I found this photo of my son when he was 1 year old,” Stoops says. “This kid is my muse and my inspiration, and in Hercules, one of his favorite movies, there are bunches of muses – it just struck me.”

After managing client development and project development for local construction businesses, Stoops created the site to find a new career and to support his family, which includes his wife Karen and five children – MacLaughlin, 15; Emma, 13, who, with Asperger’s syndrome, also has special needs; Zoë, 8; Lea, 6; and Ian, 9 months.

Stoops says the community for special needs is growing and people are trying to find programs in their community or state to assist their daily lives. With growing unemployment, reductions in social spending and less public assistance, this is sometimes difficult.

Through his own experiences, Stoops discovered local merchants and providers offer the same products and services as larger and national organizations, but they just don’t advertise as well.

The site launched in July 2009 and assists both individuals and companies by providing online advertising based on what is available in the community. Attempting to help people with special needs in a shorter period of time, with less travel and shipping, will reduce their spending.

Not only did MacLaughlin inspire the name of the site, but he also aided in its design. Stoops has tried to make the site user-friendly to appeal to his broad audience by having MacLaughlin research different words to find the right services.

“I wanted to see his reaction to different pages and the different ways he perceived finding different information,” Stoops says. “We even added games and I would ask him what’s fun about this and what isn’t fun about it. The Web site is also in a palette of black and shades of gray. Some sites are so busy with color, the message gets lost. Our message is important.”

The message is one that will hopefully spread to a wide variety of people and families with special needs. Stoops says everybody has different requirements in the home – some need an autistic provider while others might be looking for financial management. He hopes the site will be helpful regardless of the type of need.

Starting up a business and taking care of five children has certainly kept Stoops busy.

“It’s a chaotic schedule. Trying to create a Web site is like a tornado,” he says.

But he loves what does and is even finding time to give back to others. He volunteers with Zoë and Lea at Helping Hands, a center for special needs in Dublin. He’s an instructor of continuing education at The Ohio State University that teaches classes such as marketing and business development to adults and non-traditional learners. And he is the vocational services chair for the Dublin AM Rotary Club.

“I do want specialMUSE to be my occupation and to make a profit, but at the same time, I hope the people can recognize it as a place to get noticed,” he says. “I would like to see it grow into a large directory. We want to use the feedback we receive to find out what we don’t offer, so we can provide it.”

Getting companies and organizations to buy advertisements on the site has been the biggest challenge for Stoops because of the economy, but he isn’t discouraged. It also provides him with a platform to share his family’s stories.

“I’m a fairly humorous guy by nature but even with these trying times, this site gives me an outlet to share my experiences,” says Stoops. “The most wonderful thing I have experienced is being able to put into words what I deal with everyday with my kids with special needs. Many people can’t find the support they need. If I can offer them the resources they need, hopefully they can find somebody.”

For more information, visit www.specialMUSE.com.  

Theresa Attalla is a contributing writer for Dublin Life.