A quick guide to The Disabilities Trust

The Disabilities Trust was founded in 1979 to provide an imaginative new concept of personal care and specialist housing for people with special needs.

Since then we have grown to become of the UK's leading disabillity charities, offering high quality services to people with disabilities with complex needs and/or challenging behaviour.

Through our work we aim to enhance their independence of people with disabilities and promote their rights as equal members of society.

Our services

We run services across England, divided into four divisions to meet the needs of:

• people with autism
• people with acquired brain injury
• people with profound physical disability
• people with a learning disability.

We currently run 24 residential services plus numerous community-based physical disability, autism and brain injury services across all regions of England.

Our services are continually evolving in response to need.

In 2007 we launched our first partnership with the NHS in Goole and are currently building our first unit in Scotland (Glasgow), with a further unit planned for Wales.

Our staff

We employ around 1,200 staff, ranging from support workers, speech therapists and service managers to cooks, psychologists and special needs teachers.

We offer extensive opportunities for training and professional development and are proud that many of our senior staff have been promoted through the ranks.

Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust

Our brain injury services are run by the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT), a division of The Disabilities Trust. BIRT is now the largest provider of brain injury rehabilitation services in Europe, supporting over 500 people each year.

The Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust has developed its own system of brain injury rehabilitation over the years using a psychology-led neurobehavioural approach to rehabilitation.

In 2006, BIRT became the first brain injury rehabilitation provider in the UK to be accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities (CARF), an independent, not-for-profit organisation founded in 1966 to promote quality rehabilitation services.

Campaigns

The Disabilities Trust also campaigns to highlight a number of issues that affect the lives of people with disabilities.

Governance

The Disabiltiies Trust is managed by its senior management team guided by an experienced board of trustees.

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