Shop small, support the village

Village Businesses

Support other families of children with autism and other special needs! Every business below is run by a family walking the same road — when you book, shop, or share, you’re helping a village family thrive.

The businesses

Five people posing indoors in front of a brick wall; one adult holds a baby
Murfreesboro, TN Faith & gifts

Bibles and Coffee

Hand-painted, personalized Bibles, journaling supplies, and faith-filled gifts from Jackie and Mike Dausend — with a coffee-shop-meets-Bible-boutique home on West Main Street in downtown Murfreesboro. A lovely stop for a meaningful keepsake, made by hands that know your road.

Shop online or visit downtown Murfreesboro.

Black mobile trailer labeled Sensory Space
Murfreesboro, TN Mobile sensory room

Sensory Space

A fully mobile sensory room that comes to you — birthday parties, school days, church events, or anywhere a calm-down space would change the day. Founded by James and Emily Erby after their daughter’s autism diagnosis at age two; wheelchair accessible, with packages from one to five hours.

Serves Middle Tennessee, traveling up to about two hours.

Mercedes Lawson smiling in a dark blazer and polka-dot top
Middle Tennessee Education advocacy Parent & teacher support Workshops & consultation

A.C.C.E.S.S.

Mercedes Lawson, M.S.Ed., founded the Advocacy & Consultation Center for Educational Student Supports after years as a special-education and ESL teacher — and after navigating disability services in her own family. A special-needs parent herself, she helps parents, students, and teachers understand educational rights and build more equitable support at school. She is also in our directory, pinned first under IEP advocacy.

Free 30-minute consultation · access.your.education@gmail.com

Two adults and a child smiling outdoors; one adult holds the child
Murfreesboro, TN

Little Luminaries Therapy Services

Little Luminaries is a play-based, neurodiversity-affirming speech therapy practice led by Dr. Taylor Hickok, a speech-language pathologist and local parent. The practice serves clients ages 18 months to 99 with speech and language therapy, AAC evaluations and support, and parent and family coaching. Private pay and BlueCross BlueShield accepted.

1810 Ward Dr Suite #101, Murfreesboro(615) 900-4420

Kind Signs banner-painting logo
Murfreesboro, TN Custom banners & signs

Kind Signs

Custom hand-painted banners and signs by Autumn Fotopoulos, made to order for birthdays, celebrations, and special-interest themes. Prices start at $30, with free local pickup in Murfreesboro or $15 shipping.

acarte94@gmail.com

Vending services

Gigi’s Vending Services

Gigi’s Vending Services is run by a family raising a daughter with autism.

Adults and children posing indoors in front of a fireplace
Spring Hill, TN Farm-raised meats

Light Hill Meats

Ben and Lauren Neale’s pasture-to-plate beef farm and USDA-inspected butcher shop — and through their nonprofit, Light Hill Ministries, the family behind Santa’s Sensory Wonderland every December: a free, calm, sensory-friendly Santa experience with professional photos and crafts. Watch the calendar for this year’s date.

150 Stephen P. Yokich Pkwy, Suites E & F, Spring Hill · (931) 488-4631

Middle Tennessee Neurodivergent homeschooling Books & creative work Web design & digital marketing

Inch Journey + PHF Agency

Kaily Nakhoneinh is an immigrant mom homeschooling a neurodivergent child with dyslexia, autism, and ADHD. Through Inch Journey, she shares honest encouragement, curriculum ideas, and her family’s experience growing through homeschool one inch at a time. Her web-design and digital-marketing work for small businesses lives at PHF Agency — one village family, two businesses.

Four adults posing beneath a round wooden sign reading The Parrs
Family support Workshops & consultation

Pick Up the Pieces TN

Cari Parr helps families navigate autism, behavior, and disability through workshops, consultations, and free community education — one practice with services described, also listed in the directory’s parent coaching category.

pickupthepiecestn@gmail.com · (615) 427-8954 · Facebook-only online

Two people smiling together in a close-up selfie
Parent coaching IEP advocacy & sleep

Behavior Cubed

Kathleen’s practice offers parent coaching, IEP advocacy and education support, and behavioral sleep support through a neurodivergent-friendly approach — one practice, several services. She is also listed in the directory’s parent coaching category.

kathleen@behaviorcubed.com

Six people standing together on a park path
Smyrna, TN Dog care

Camp Bow Wow Smyrna

Dog day care, overnight boarding, and grooming — a national franchise, locally owned by a family in the village.

200 Weakley Lane, Smyrna · (615) 619-4595

Two adults and two children sitting outdoors with a dog
Mt. Juliet, TN Dance fitness

Fly Dance Fitness Mt. Juliet

Rachel Sanders is bringing inclusive, all-level dance, cardio, and strength classes to Mt. Juliet, with pop-up workouts available while the studio gets ready to open.

Three adults and two children wearing medals outside an event venue
Murfreesboro area Salon & spa

The Powder Room Salon & Spa

One of two businesses run by the same village family. See also Black Pearl LLC.

Facials, waxing, lash lifts and brow lamination, natural nails, spray tans, and hair — a locally owned salon and spa going on sixteen years, by appointment. The hour to yourself that special-needs parents rarely take.

321 C West McKnight Drive, Murfreesboro · (615) 319-4247

Three adults and two children wearing medals outside an event venue
Business-to-business CNC & fabrication

Black Pearl LLC

One of two businesses run by the same village family. See also The Powder Room Salon & Spa.

CNC fabrication, welding, panel building, PLC programming, and robotics — machining, custom fabrication, and industrial automation for other companies.

An adult and a child posing outdoors beside a green balloon
Dog grooming

Revé’s Grooming Studio

Dog grooming in Murfreesboro from a groomer who has been at it for years — run by a family in the village. Book online (the booking page opens on their scheduling platform).

Two adults holding two children on a beach
Custom apparel & wood work

Sippin Mamas

Custom and personalized apparel plus laser-crafted wood work — the shirt for the walk team, the sign for the porch, the gift that says the thing out loud.

A child modeling a gray patterned one-piece outfit against a white background
Middle Tennessee Adaptive clothing

Six Southern Babes

Soft bamboo clothing designed in Middle Tennessee, with every style available as a medically adaptive option — the kind of detail only a family who has dressed around tubes and lines thinks to build in. The family also donates $1 from every purchase.

Two adults and two children standing in front of a house
Painting Licensed & insured

Smith Painting

Phillip Smith’s licensed and insured local painting business, run by a family in the village.

Call or text (615) 545-6515 · Facebook-only online

An adult and a child wearing sunglasses near a cruise ship
Murfreesboro, TN Laundry service

The Happy Hamper

Nikole’s woman-owned laundry service offers porch pickup, wash, dry, fold, and delivery around Murfreesboro — one less thing on a week that already has too many.

(615) 900-5033

An adult and child smiling in front of a brick wall
Hair & beauty

Wildflower Hair

Emily’s hair studio, run by a family in the village. (Not to be confused with Wildflower Learning Center, the preschool in our directory — different businesses, both worth knowing.)

Book online, or text 931-205-8373

Long wavy blond hair shown from the back
Hair & blonding

Larkin Dye · Rustic Revival

Larkin’s studio in Christiana, just south of Murfreesboro, with a blonding specialty (the “Blonde Bombshell” services are the tell). Run by a family in the village.

Two adults and three children standing together outside a brick home
Nolensville, TN Hair & beauty

Veritas Salon & Co.

Madison Vondohlen’s Nolensville salon, built around honesty, integrity, and grace. The team offers haircuts and styling, color and treatments, extensions, and event and bridal styling.

7340 Nolensville Rd, Suite 104, Nolensville · (615) 776-5333
veritassalon@veritassalon.com
Tue–Thu 9–7, Fri 9–5, Sat 9–3, closed Sun and Mon

Luana’s Cleaning Service logo
Home cleaning

Luana Cleaning Service

Regular, deep, and move-in/move-out cleaning across Middle Tennessee, Murfreesboro included — billed by the hour, no packages, no hidden fees. Run by a family in the village.

Wonder Spark Travel logo
Travel planning Special-needs vacations

Wonder Spark Travel

Sabrina Estrada’s Nashville-based travel agency plans theme-park trips, cruises, and all-inclusive getaways for busy families — and, as a special-needs parent herself, she plans around the things other agents miss: accessible rooms, sensory pacing, dietary limits, airport help. She is also in our directory’s travel category.

(615) 962-4820 · info@wondersparktravel.com

An adult holding a blue illustrated book titled The Carrot Chronicles
Books & creative work

Becca’s Cozy Corner Studio

Becca Malone writes and illustrates for kids: three children’s books, two coloring books, and a chapter book so far, including The Carrot Chronicles. Look for her at local craft fairs and reading sessions — dates go on the calendar as she shares them.

Books are on her Amazon author page.

Run a business? Get on this page.

If your family is raising a child with special needs and running a small business — products, services, anything — we want to feature you here, free. The village shops with its own.

Tell us about your business

More coming soon

This list grows as families raise their hands. Know a special-needs family with a business we should feature — even your neighbor’s? Send it in and we’ll reach out to them.

Want to support local families?

Business listings are never sold or ranked based on payment. Businesses and organizations that want to help fund Our Special Village can explore separate sponsorship opportunities.

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