Salvesen Mindroom Centre
Salvesen Mindroom Centre is a Scottish charity that supports, informs and empowers children and young people -and their families -who are neurodivergent (previously referred to as having learning difficulties). Our vision is to create a world in which no mind is left behind.
History
33 years ago my husband and I were catapulted into a completely new world with the birth of our daughter Annie. And it was a world of shocking inequalities and apathy.
My search for a diagnosis for Annie eventually took me to a conference on learning difficulties – one of the very first in the world - in Gothenburg in 1998. And it was there and then that the vision for the Salvesen Mindroom Centre was born. I spent two days listening to desperate statistics about exclusion, bullying, loneliness, divorce, prison statistics -and yes – even children who were contemplating suicide!
And I found that totally unacceptable!
I still find it totally unacceptable!
Salvesen Mindroom Centre (founded by my husband Robin and I in 2000) is a Scottish charity that supports, informs and empower children, young people and their families living with learning difficulties (ADHD, autism, dyslexia, OCD, Tourette syndrome etc). Our multi professional team work locally, nationally and internationally. No diagnosis needed and our services are free of charge.
There are 6-7 children in every school class that have some sort of stumbling block. They need help, support and understanding. Learning difficulties is a public health issue that concern us all.
What we do
Salvesen Mindroom work directly with families, providing information, advice and one-to-one support. We support and advocate for children and young people under the age of 25.
We help plan for transitions for secondary school pupil.
But we do so much more than that – we produce digital tools to help, we make films, organise conferences, collaborate with other organisations, offer workshops, advice the Scottish government and write popular information booklets on neuro diversity.
SMC is complemented by a unique partnership with the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre (SMRC) within the Clinical Brain Sciences at The University of Edinburgh. The research team is creating new knowledge about neurodiversity and SMC and SMRC are using that knowledge to design, evaluate and deliver ways to enable people to thrive.
In short, we are making sure no mind is left behind!
For more information see www.mindroom.org
