External Organizations
The National Autistic Society
The National Autistic Society is the leading UK charity for people with autism spectrum disorder (including Asperger syndrome) and their families. They campaign for a better world for people with autism. They have an excellent website presenting extensive information about autism. The section on social skills may be particularly useful.
Headway
Headway is a charity that works to improve life after brain injury. It aims to promote understanding of all aspects of brain injury and to provide information, support and services to people with a brain injury, their families, and carers. There is a multitude of information on the organization's website, including a factsheet on prosopagnosia that I contributed to.
The Encephalitis Society
'Encephalitis' refers to an accute inflammation of the brain, and can result in face blindness. Some of our research participants are active members of the Encephalitis Society, an organization that aims to improve the quality of life of all people affected directly and indirectly by encephalitis. The Encephalitis Society offers access to a wide range of information about the condition and its consequences, treatment and rehabilitation. It also provides bespoke training, nationally and internationally, to health, social care, and education professionals involved in the care of people following Encephalitis. If you would like to find out more information about encephalitis or access support, visit the charity's excellent website. A peer-reviewed factsheet on prosopagnosia that I wrote for the Society can be found here.
The London Face Blind Group and Face Blind UK
The London Faceblind Group is run by members of Face Blind UK, and provides an informal and confidential space for people with face blindness to meet and share their experiences about everyday life with prosopagnosia. The groups are facilitated by Monica who is an experienced therapist and is also face blind. The group began in November 2011 and meet regularly. Meetings are 2 hours long and an invitation to join and participate in the group is extended to anyone living with the condition. The meetings so far have varied in size but have always produced lots of lively discussion and sharing.
The group aims to:
- provide a safe, confidential space
- enable the sharing and making sense of experiences related to faceblindness
- learn and share coping strategies
- get occasional updates from researchers in the field
- have a collective voice that can contribute to the direction of future research
- raise awareness of prosopagnosia