Our history.
Our past
AbilityNet was shaped in the 1980s…so some of us have been working in the specialist field of ICT adaptive and assistive technologies for decades, and because we focus 100% on solutions for people irrespective of age or disability, if we don’t know the answer we know where to find it!
Back in the 1980’s a small team of people at IBM were busy helping disabled people adapt and adjust their computers. The service wasn’t set up as a money-spinner, but IBM realised it was much needed and in 1992 gave start-up funding for a separate charity to carry on the good work. That initiative saw the beginning of AbilityNet.
In 1998, with a reputation as a leader in this field, it was only natural to merge with another charity with a growing reputation for excellence in adaptive software. The Computability Centre and The Foundation for Communication for the Disabled (also around since the 1980s), joined to form AbilityNet.
Today
AbilityNet has the support of IBM, The British Computer Society and the University of Birmingham as corporate trustees. IBM, Microsoft, BT, Hewlett Packard, Agilent Technologies and Remploy continue to provide generous support by offering office space and more. Our free online information and resources are downloaded by hundreds of thousands of people every year, and we still have real people you can talk to if you wish!
We operate a network of centres across the UK and have a reputation second to none. The range of services we offer make us unique in the UK, and, we are told, in the world. Our aim is to simplify the sometimes confusing array of choices and to offer pragmatic advice based on real experience. With our help expensive mistakes should be a thing of the past.
"AbilityNet gives up peace of mind – if they don’t know the answer they know where to find it" Employment Needs Training Agency.
"Thanks to AbilityNet we can always be sure we are making the right decisions without any bias or vested interest." Principal Librarian, Warwickshire.
We start with free solutions, provide training for a whole range of professionals and our passion is to ensure that today’s communications revolution is available to disabled people, because we know just how liberating this can be.
"At my computer I can forget my disabilities and concentrate solely on my capabilities – I can travel, shop and go to the cinema all in the same day – now that's what I call progress.’ However great your disability, technology can level the playing field."
If Stephen Hawking can write books, educate and communicate despite his disability, just think what you could do!
Our future
Blink, or take your eye off the ball for too long, and technology changes. It’s difficult for anyone not totally focussed on adaptive and assistive technologies to keep up to date with the latest solutions – and to be confident they work!
We keep up to date by staying firmly rooted in finding solutions for a wide range of disabled people –and have adopted a simple strategy to ensure more disabled people can find the best possible solution and be provided with all the support they need to use it.
We will:
- Act as a centre of excellence, setting and supporting high quality standards and developing widely available specialist resources
- Offer our expertise and resources to a wide range of organisations across the UK so they can support disabled adults and children with confidence and to AbilityNet’s national standards
- Use technology to reach more people with more affordable solutions, without compromising the quality of outputs
The use of web cameras, phone links and the ability to adjust a computer remotely helps people access our expertise even if they can’t leave home or a hospital bed. ‘Try before you buy’ is a cornerstone of our philosophy, and loan banks of specialist equipment for disabled people at home are increasingly in demand.
It’s a client centred approach that remains at the heart of all that we do, and will make sure that more people across the UK benefit from the power of technology to enjoy life to the full.