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What we do

One in 20 children are born with a disability in the UK. Contact a Family is the only national charity that exists to support the families of disabled children whatever their condition or disability.

With over 30 years of experience, our vision is that families with disabled children are empowered to live the lives they want and achieve their full potential, for themselves, for the communities they live in, and for society.

It’s why we offer support, information and advice to over 340,000 families each year and campaign for families to receive a better deal.

Find out more about the services we offer by watching the video below or see a text version here.

Core values of our organisation

• We recognise that many families who care for disabled children are excluded from participating in society at both an economic and social level.
• We believe that services should be inclusive and designed to maximise the independence and full potential of disabled children.
• We believe families should be consulted and actively engaged by service providers to develop local and national services.
• We believe that families should have access to high quality services and up-to-date information.
• We believe that the needs of parents and families are best served by a range of different organisations working together.
• We seek to be an open and inclusive organisation, promoting diversity and equality.
• We support families from all communities regardless of disability, gender, ethnic origin, religion, sexual orientation or class.

What did we do in 2010 - 2011?

• Last year our family support services supported 9,000 families by providing one-to-one support over the telephone, at drop-in sessions and through home visits or email.
• Our helpline answered over 8,000 enquiries from families in crisis or need.
• We provided opportunities for 12,000 parents to come together at workshops and meetings helping to provide support and learn new skills, such as wheelchair skills and dealing with difficult behaviour.
• We linked 179,000 families of children with specific rare conditions.
• We linked 10,000 families with local services and resources.
• We helped 5,000 families to get a statement of special educational needs, a crucial and usually hard-won first step in gaining financial and educational help from local authorities.

Want to know more?

Find out more about what we achieved by downloading our Annual Review