Our Story
Salvesen Mindroom Centre was founded by Sophie Dow, inspired by her daughter Annie. Annie has severe learning difficulties as a consequence of a chromosomal deletion on Chromosome 1, the ‘short arm’.
Spotting a need
After years researching the complexities of learning difficulties, Sophie found that they were:
Widespread
Poorly understood
Diagnosed very late, or not at all
A source of massive issues for families and society at large
There was also a HUGE void when it came to accessing all-round information on learning difficulties.
Sophie’s experience
Trying to find the answers for Annie was traumatic. It took years, experience was low, information was unavailable, medical and educational support systems focused on the mainstream and there was no pathway to a solution. Sophie wanted to help make sure other families didn’t have the same experience.
Our society seems to have a blind spot – its own form of learning difficulty – towards people with special needs
Sophie Dow, Founder
Something needed to be done, and in 2000, Mindroom was born. In 2017, we became the Salvesen Mindroom Centre.
