Laurence Clark
Before working for himself, Dr Laurence Clark ran a project for Liverpool Primary Care Trust researching how the NHS can provide Accessible Health Information and communicate effectively with disabled people. Since then he has provided training and consultancy to many public authorities across the country and supported the development of a number of disabled people’s organisations.
At school Laurence was ill-advised by the career service to go into IT; their reasoning being he could earn good money and never encounter any wheelchair access issues by working entirely from home. After spending years studying for a PhD in Bioinformatics, Laurence decided on a complete change of direction and went back to study for a M.A. in Disability Studies at the University of Leeds. A user of self-directed support since 1992, his dissertation examined the effects of community care charging policies for personal assistance users, comparing the English and Scottish charging systems.
Laurence also works as a critically-acclaimed stand-up comedian and writer. In 2004 he was a guest reporter on BBC 2’s Newsnight, presenting a short film about disability and the Abortion Act. He has written about various disability equality issues for The Times, Community Care, Disability Now and has a regular column on the BBC Ouch website.
Laurence is an excellent public speaker and regularly speaks at numerous conferences and events. He lives in Liverpool with his wife Adele and four year-old son Tom.