Contact a Family
Encyclopedia
Contact a Family is a UK
-based registered charity
for families
with disabled
children offering support, advice and information regardless of the child's medical condition
or situation. As well as supporting families the charity supports those who assist the families, including medical and educational professionals, local government workers and health workers. The charity also campaigns
on behalf of disabled children's families in the UK.
Formed in 1979 as a small local project in the London Borough of Wandsworth
the charity now has a presence in each of the four UK countries and employs over a hundred staff. It claims to directly help hundreds of thousands of families each year and is one of the main charities in the UK for carers and disabled people's families.
The name of the charity comes from one of its services whereby families are put in touch with others affected by the same or similar medical conditions. This in turn has led to the formation of many parent-led support group
s some of which have themselves become registered charities. In recent years this service was extended to the World Wide Web
. Another major work of the charity is the production of - often definitive - medical texts for many medical conditions. These are published in the Contact a Family Directory in book
, CD-Rom
and on the Internet
.
The charity is a founding member of the Every Disabled Child Matters
campaign.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-based registered charity
Charitable organization
A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...
for families
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
with disabled
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
children offering support, advice and information regardless of the child's medical condition
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
or situation. As well as supporting families the charity supports those who assist the families, including medical and educational professionals, local government workers and health workers. The charity also campaigns
Political campaign
A political campaign is an organized effort which seeks to influence the decision making process within a specific group. In democracies, political campaigns often refer to electoral campaigns, wherein representatives are chosen or referendums are decided...
on behalf of disabled children's families in the UK.
Formed in 1979 as a small local project in the London Borough of Wandsworth
London Borough of Wandsworth
The London Borough of Wandsworth is a London borough in southwest London, England, and forms part of Inner London.-History:The borough was formed in 1965 from the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea and much of the former area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth, but...
the charity now has a presence in each of the four UK countries and employs over a hundred staff. It claims to directly help hundreds of thousands of families each year and is one of the main charities in the UK for carers and disabled people's families.
The name of the charity comes from one of its services whereby families are put in touch with others affected by the same or similar medical conditions. This in turn has led to the formation of many parent-led support group
Support group
In a support group, members provide each other with various types of help, usually nonprofessional and nonmaterial, for a particular shared, usually burdensome, characteristic...
s some of which have themselves become registered charities. In recent years this service was extended to the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
. Another major work of the charity is the production of - often definitive - medical texts for many medical conditions. These are published in the Contact a Family Directory in book
Book
A book is a set or collection of written, printed, illustrated, or blank sheets, made of hot lava, paper, parchment, or other materials, usually fastened together to hinge at one side. A single sheet within a book is called a leaf or leaflet, and each side of a leaf is called a page...
, CD-Rom
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
and on the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
.
The charity is a founding member of the Every Disabled Child Matters
Every Disabled Child Matters
Every Disabled Child Matters is a political campaign based in England with the aim of improving rights for disabled children and their families. The stated campaign objectives focus on issues such as poverty, education, access to government services and inclusion...
campaign.