Personal Relationships

Disabled people make the same choices about personal relationships and sex as everyone else. However they can experience discrimination on account of their gender or sexuality. This section describes where you can find support and advice concerning personal or sexual issues.

Relationships
Gender
Health Issues
Other sources of Information
Contacts

Relationships

Arthritis Care supports people with arthritis. As well as a Helpline, they produce a downloadable booklet entitled ‘Relationships, Intimacy and Arthritis.’

Outsiders is a national organisation for people who feel socially isolated because of their physical impairment. The club helps build to confidence and develop friendships. It welcomes people of any sexual orientation, whether they are single, divorced, separated or married. Outsiders has a helpline for disabled people and their partners or carers who may be having sexual or relationship difficulties. Updated leaflets are available on the website as is a list of helpful books, contacts and counselling services.

Relate offers advice, relationship counselling, sex therapy, mediation, consultation and support, face-to-face, over the telephone and through their website. Relate also publishes a wide range of useful literature. In Darlington Relate offer relationship counselling and sex therapy as well as specialist work with people with Aspergers syndrome.

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Gender Issues

Gay Advice Darlington (GAD) works with individuals and local organisations to ensure a safe, confidential environment in which gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people can live, work and socialise. GAD has several groups as well as an advice line. Support is available to anyone who needs it.

Regard campaigns to raise awareness of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) issues within the disability community and of disability issues within the LGBT community. The organisation has an email group or 'e-group' called Regard Online, where members can share regular news and views, and another e-group called Regard Chat, where members can talk about whatever they want. Regard also publishes a regular newsletter.

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Health Issues

You can discuss personal and sexual issues with your local general practitioner (GP), who may then refer you to other NHS services if necessary. If you do not know who your GP is contact the Patient Advisory and Liaison Service at Darlington Primary Care Trust.

British Deaf Association offers people who are deaf or hard of hearing information and support about sexually transmitted diseases, safer sex, sexuality and sexual relationships, pregnancy and contraception.

Brook Advisory Centres welcome disabled people up to age 25 at their 17 centres around the country. They have a confidential young people's information service.

Disability, Pregnancy and Parenthood International (DPPi) and Disabled Parents Network (DPN ), at the National Centre for Disabled Parents, is a national organisation of and for disabled people who are parents or who hope to become parents, and their families, friends and supporters. DPN provides information, advice, and peer support to disabled parents, their families and supporters and campaigns on a local and national level to improve services for disabled parents.

Family Planning Association provides a nationwide information and education service on all aspects of contraception and sexual health. The FPA can also give details of your nearest source of family planning help and advice.

GUM Clinic (Genito-Urinary Medicine) based at Darlington Memorial Hospital provides diagnosis and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases; counselling and testing for HIV; free condoms; advice on safer sex and cervical cytology screening.

National AIDS Helpline provides information on all AIDS-related issues, including transmission of the HIV virus and AIDS treatment options. The helpline is entirely confidential. It is not a counselling service, but callers are advised as to their options for referral to specialist agencies if needed.

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Other Sources of Information

Other sections of the Darlington Association on Disability Information Guide may contain further information relevant to personal relationships.

See the section on Personal Safety for information about domestic violence and sexual abuse.

See the Health section for related health issues.

There are a number of local and national organisations providing broad information and advice resources. Please refer to this guide's Introduction for contact details.

Contact Darlington Association on Disability's information service for help with searching for information about any subject in this guide or any we haven't thought about.

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Contacts

British Deaf Association
BDA Midlands
Coventry Point 10th Floor
Market Way
Coventry
CV11 1EA
Telephone : 02476 550936
Helpline (voice): 0870 7703300
Fax : 020 7588 3527
Minicom : 020 7588 3529
Minicom Helpline: 0800 6522965
Videophone : 020 7496 9539
E-mail: midlands@bda.org.uk
Website :

British Deaf Association Counselling Service
13 Wilson Patten Street
Warrington
Cheshire WA1 1PG
Telephone : 01925 652520
Fax : 01925 652526
Minicom : 01925 652529
Videophone : 01925 630169
E-mail : yvonnet@signcommunity.org.uk
Website : www.signcommunity.org.uk

Brook Advisory Centres
National Office
421 Highgate Studios
53 - 57 Highgate Road
London NW5 1TL
Telephone : 020 7284 6040
Helpline : 0800 0185023
Fax : 020 7284 6050
Minicom :
E-mail :
Website : www.brook.org.uk

Darlington Association on Disability
20-22 Horsemarket
Darlington DL1 5PT
Telephone 01325 489 999
Fax : 01325 488 188
Minicom : 01325 245 061
Email : mail@darlingtondisability.org
Website : www.darlingtondisability.org

Disability, Pregnancy and Parenthood International (DPPi)
National Centre for Disabled Parents
Unit F9,
89 - 93 Fonthill Road
London N4 3JH
Telephone : 020 7263 3088
Helpline : 0800 0184730
Fax : 020 7263 6399
Minicom : 0800 0189949
E-mail : info@dppi.org.uk
Website : www.dppi.org.uk

Disabled Parents Network (DPN)
National Centre for Disabled Parents
Unit F9,
89 - 93 Fonthill Road
London N4 3JH
Helpline : 0870 241 0450
Fax : (020) 7263 6399
Minicom : 0800 018 9949
E-mail : information@disabledparentsnetwork.org.uk
Website : www.disabledparentsnetwork.org.uk

Family Planning Association
2 - 12 Pentonville Road
London N1 9FP
Telephone : 020 7837 5432
Helpline : 0845 3101334
Fax : 020 7837 3042
Minicom :
E-mail :
Website : www.fpa .org.uk

Gay Advice Darlington (GAD)
9 Duke Street
Darlington DL3 7RX
Telephone : 01325 355551
Fax :
Minicom :
E-mail : volunteer@gayadvice.plus.com
Website : www.gayadvicedarlington.co.uk

GUM Clinic
Genito Urinary Medicine
Darlington Memorial Hospital
Hollyhurst Road
Darlington
Telephone Advice Line: 01325 743616
Telephone Appointments : 01325 743203

Outsiders
436 Essex Road
Leeroy House
London N1 3QP
Telephone : 020 7354 8291
Fax :
Minicom :
E-mail : contact through website
Website : www.outsiders.org.uk

Regard
B M Regard
London
WC1N 3XX
Email: secretary@regard.org.uk
Website : www.regard.org.uk

Relate North East Centre
Central Administration
West Lodge
West Crescent
Darlington DL3 7PS
Telephone : 0800 980590
Fax :
Minicom :
E-mail: admin@relate-north-east.org.uk
Website : www.relate.org.uk

The Source (Young Arthritis Care)
Arthritis Care
18 Stephenson Way
London NW1 2HD
Telephone : 020 7380 6500
Helpline : 0808 800 4050
Young People's Helpline (The Source): 0808 808 2000
Fax: (020) 7380 6505
Minicom :
E-mail : thesource@arthritiscare.org.uk
Website : www.arthritiscare.org.uk

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