The British Institute of Learning Disabilities was founded in 1971 by Professor Gerry Simon. He believed there could be better support in the community for people with disabilities, especially people with learning disabilities, and wanted to improve rights, services and opportunities.
In the UK in the 1970s there was a shift away from hospital-based care for people with learning disabilities toward care in the community. Bild was founded to support this move toward community-based support and rights-oriented practice, developing training, research and advocacy to improve day-to-day support.
Bild believes people with learning disabilities should live in their communities, not in institutions, and continues to advocate for this today. Over the decades, Bild’s work expanded to include inclusive education, family support, and wider service development. Bild continues to focus on sharing good practice with health, social care and education professionals, service providers, family carers and advocacy groups.
Bild’s work champions rights-based, inclusive practice, with people with learning disabilities at the centre. The charity works with people with learning disabilities and autistic people across the UK to influence policy that affects their lives.
In 2019, Bild were approached by the Restraint Reduction Network (RRN), a coalition of organisations and individuals committed to minimising coercive and restrictive practices, to provide stewardship and facilitation to the group. With clear alignment of purpose, Bild facilitated establishing the RRN as an independent charity, and continues to work in partnership with RRN today.
The partnership of charities has continued to grow, with the founding of Association of Certified Training, an independent charity set up to certify training as complying with the RRN Training Standards, and in 2024, the addition of Respond, an established charity providing specialist support for autistic people and people with learning disabilities who have experienced violence, abuse or trauma.
Today, Bild works with people with lived experience, charities, government departments, local authorities and service providers to promote rights-based approaches to support both in the UK and internationally.