AbilityNet North East
On November 19th 2004, AbilityNet's Newcastle office, kindly hosted by Remploy; was opened by Olympic medallist Stephen Miller.
In that short time we have helped many individuals who experience difficulties using a computer, often giving newly found independence. A few examples of these can be seen on our 'People we have helped' page.
The friendly faces here at the Newcastle office are:
- Nuala Davis - Senior Assessor/Consultant
- Roz Gale - Administrator
If you think we can help you or someone you know, please all us on 0800 269 545.
AbilityNet History
In October 1998, the Foundation for Communication for the Disabled, and the Computability Centre, both leading charities working in the field of assistive technology for disabled people, joined to form AbilityNet.
Founded in 1980, the Foundation was the largest independent supplier of adapted computer hardware and software to disabled users in the UK. With its non-commercial status it could put together a technology solution, without bias towards any particular supplier. It built a solid reputation for tackling the more complex technical challenges that commercial suppliers could not handle from their single product range. As a charity it provided technical support to its disabled clients for as long as needed, without charge and consultancy for employers on workstation, software and web accessibility.
The Computability Centre started in 1992 as a national source of information and advice to people with any type of disability who need or want to use a computer. It established itself particularly with a role to help restore the productivity of employees who had acquired disabilities, and received funding from many of the UK’s top companies. Growth of all its services was very rapid, especially seminars and courses to spread awareness of what special technology is available to help disabled people.
The formation of AbilityNet has enabled a comprehensive range of services on the use of information technology to be offered from a single organisation, to people with all types of disabling conditions, and also to care and support professionals, employers and statutory bodies. This is unique in the UK, and probably in the world.
AbilityNet provides free information and advice, individual assessment of technology needs, the supply of assistive technology with free support, a programme of awareness education, and consultancy for employers on system and workstation adaptations and web accessibility.
The strength of AbilityNet lies in the enormous experience of its staff teams, and the opportunity this creates to be a major catalyst in the general improvement of service provision to disabled people on the use of assistive technology. The trustees follow a simple strategy to handle the potential for this role:
- Maintain a strong national hub of expertise to set and support high quality standards, and enable the growth of specialist resources
- Use this expertise to support partners in offering their own services to AbilityNet’s national standards
- Build resources in regional centres and through partnerships
As a charity AbilityNet is heavily dependant on your support. Please look at our 'How you can help' page for imformation on donations.
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