Eligibility criteria
What is within the remit of the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund?
The Baily Thomas Charitable Fund provides grants for general and research work with people with learning disabilities. “Learning disabilities” is the same as “intellectual disabilities”; these terms are inter-changeable.
People with learning disabilities have these three things:
- global intellectual impairment (intelligence quotient less than 70), and
- need for support/help to fulfil ordinary daily activities, and
- onset before the age of 18 years.
Learning disabilities may have a recognised cause, e.g. Down syndrome, Williams syndrome, but often the cause is not known.
Children, young people, and adults with learning disabilities often also have other physical and mental health conditions, disabilities, and/or impairments as well as having learning disabilities.
What is outside the remit of the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund?
People with the following conditions alone, are outside the remit of the Baily Thomas Charitable Fund, unless some of them additionally have learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities).
- Autism/autism spectrum disorders/Asperger syndrome
- Specific learning disabilities (as this is an overarching term for conditions like dyslexia, dyscalculia)
- Dyslexia
- Dyscalculia
- Specific language disorders
- Dyspraxia
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
- Blind
- Deaf
- Epilepsy
- Specific motor disorders
- Head injury in adulthood
- Stroke in adulthood
- Alzheimer disease or other dementias in adulthood
- Learning difficulties (as this is a broad term that includes other conditions as well as or instead of intellectual disabilities)
- Developmental disorders (as this is a broad term that includes other conditions as well as or instead of intellectual disabilities)
- Additional support needs (as this is a broad term that includes other conditions as well as or instead of intellectual disabilities)
- Special educational needs (as this is a broad term that includes other conditions as well as or instead of intellectual disabilities)
Many of these conditions impair learning, and/or are disabling, but that is not the same as having “learning disabilities” (intellectual disabilities).
Yes, if you provide the information we request. The terminology that is in use in the UK can be confusing, as different people use terms in different ways. People with learning disabilities often have other conditions as well as having learning disabilities. Therefore we ask that in your application to the Fund, you are clear whether you include people with learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities) in your service/project. If your service/project uses any of the terms that are outside the remit of the Fund (e.g. autism), your application should state the approximate proportion or number who additionally have learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities) in the service/project. We recognise that some services are inclusive of people with learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities) alongside other people who do not have learning disabilities – these services are eligible to apply to the Fund provided you clearly state in the application the approximate proportion or number of users who have learning disabilities (intellectual disabilities).