Partners for Change

DysNet is the global network connecting anyone who is personally or professionally affected by congenital limb difference. The site is inclusive, communicative, and collaborative. This is the place where you can find information, contribute your own thoughts and ideas, and join the conversation. Currently Reach is working with DysNet to support Amusement Park Operators across Europe become more inclusive.

UK charities and support groups joining forces to raise awareness of limb loss and limb difference.

Every April Limb Loss & Limb Difference UK deliver the Limb Loss & Limb Difference Awareness Month. It’s a time to come together with amazing charities running across the UK to highlight what we do and as a collective highlight the impact of living with limb loss and limb difference – watch out for the campaign and get involved: #LLLDAM

The Lucky Fin Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in USA that exists to raise awareness and celebrate children and individuals born with symbrachydactyly or other limb differences (upper, lower, congenital, and amputee).

What LuckyFin Do:

• Creates a support network for parents across the U.S. and around the world.
• Links parents to medical information and resources.
• Provides education on limb differences.
• Hosts events and financially support efforts for children attend specialized camps, obtain prosthetics, and to fund other organizations within the limb different community.

The Lucky Fin Project has published awareness brochures for distribution to hospital Labor & Delivery wards, birthing centres, Obstetricians, Paediatricians, Orthopaedists, and parents.

The Centre for Appearance Research (CAR) at the University of the West of England, Bristol (www.uwe.ac.uk/car) is a centre of excellence for research into psychological aspects of appearance.  The team at CAR have developed a range of free evidence-based resources to help people who have upper limb differences or other conditions or injuries that can affect how a person looks.  They have been developed to support adults, young people and parents.

They are available through the Visible Difference Support Hub (www.VisibleDifferenceSupportHub.com) which was created with input from an advisory group of representatives from support organisations, including Reach.

The resources available through the website include an app, a podcast series, an e-book, videos, booklets, websites and a board game.  Many of the resources have been developed for people with any kind of visible difference, and their families, because research by the team at CAR, and others, has repeatedly shown that many of the challenges facing people with visible differences are similar, regardless of the specific type of difference they have. For example, having to deal with other people’s reactions or feeling self-conscious or nervous about new relationships are all, sadly, common experiences that can be difficult to handle.   There are currently 13 resources on the website and more will be added in the future.

All of the resources on the Visible Difference Support Hub were developed with lots of input from people with lived experience of visible differences, and relevant support organisations and health professionals.  They were then rigorously tested by the team at CAR, so that they can be confident they could offer benefits to the people who use them.  The website gives information about the research that has been conducted for each resource.

You can access the Visible Difference Support Hub by going to www.VisibleDifferenceSupportHub.com or by scanning this QR code.

The team at CAR are also wanting to find out what people think of the website and how they use it.  If you’d like to give your feedback, with the chance of winning an online shopping voucher, please look at the website and then follow this link to give your feedback: https://uwe.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_57m45grMC7LHeWa

We have a full list of resources available for you:

The Visible Difference Parenting Toolkit

For adults we have the ACT It Out app available for free

For adults with worries about relationships we have Loving ACTion podcast series