While many disabled people of all ages do benefit from support services provided by statutory organisations including local social services and social work departments, resources are inevitably limited, meaning that advice, information and support must often come from the voluntary and not-for-profit sector. This is by no means necessarily a bad thing; disabled people, after all, are particularly experienced when it comes to living with their individual impairments, and such expert advice, support and information can be a genuine and much-needed resource for others.
Support organisations come in all shapes and sizes, although the most well known; such as The Equality and Human Rights Commission, Scope, the RNIB, RNID and RADAR – operate at a national, rather than purely local, level, and may well have developed a wider “anti-disablist” agenda than their origins might suggest. Increasingly, disabled people themselves, or those with personal experience of the specific conditions, are active in the devising and delivery of their support, ensuring their suitability and effectiveness.