Our Mission

Voice
We enable people who experience learning difficulties, mental ill health or other disabilities to find their voice and shape their own lives.

Action
We create positive choices for disabled people, by helping organizations to understand their needs and representing their views or supporting them to speak up for themselves.

Change
We lead society towards recognizing disabled people as equal and valued citizens with the same choices and opportunities as everyone else.

A message from Craig Dearden-Philips, Chief Executive

Welcome to our website!

My name is Craig Dearden-Phillips and I was one of the founders of Speaking Up over 12 years ago.

The vision we are working towards at Speaking Up is a world in which all disabled people have a voice.

We want people to be designers of their own destiny.

We believe that having a voice is an important part of a rich and fulfilling life.

Craig Dearden-Philips, Chief Executive Having a voice helps to unlock the door for people to achieve the life they want. Without a voice, you cannot direct your own life so we exist to help people find their own voice and direct their own lives.

So far, we've been really successful, pioneering new ideas such as the Service User Parliament and becoming in recent years one of the biggest and best advocacy providers in the UK. Its been a very exciting journey.

But it is about to get better. Our purpose going forward is to find new ways for people to find their voice, to help more people around Britain to find their voice and to take our most innovative work to new parts of the UK.

We are living in fast-changing times. Individual budgets. Self-directed support. The Mental Health Act. Never before has it mattered more for people with learning difficulties, mental health problems and disabilities to have a voice.

We're totally up for that challenge! It is why we exist.

Do enjoy finding out more about us on our site.

View Craig’s Blog

Our Patrons

Simon Baron-Cohen - Professor of Developmental Psychopathology We are very happy to welcome Professor Simon Baron Cohen as our first patron.

“I am delighted to be a Patron of Speaking Up and am proud to be associated with their important work supporting people with learning difficulties and mental health problems in every aspect of society. They have achieved a lot already and I wish them every success as they continue to grow as a charity and transform the lives of people with learning disabilities and mental health problems and their families.”

Simon Baron-Cohen is Professor of Developmental Psychopathology at the University of Cambridge and Fellow at Trinity College, Cambridge. He is Director of the Autism Research Centre (ARC) in Cambridge. He holds degrees in Human Sciences from New College, Oxford, a PhD in Psychology from UCL, and an M.Phil in Clinical Psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry. He held lectureships in both of these departments in London before moving to Cambridge in 1994. He is also Director of CLASS (Cambridge Lifespan Asperger Syndrome Service), a clinic for adults with suspected AS.