I have been working with Ataxia UK for more than 20 years, and during this time, we have worked closely on many projects improving the treatment and care of people with ataxia, and advance the field of ataxia research. Ataxia UK helped to set up and fund the London UCL/UCLH Ataxia Centre, which was then accredited by the charity and has been a great success in providing specialist care for people with ataxia. This is such an exciting time for ataxia research at the moment, and I hope that the programmes being conducted now will one day be translated into effective treatments and the prospect of a cure.

I was first diagnosed with ataxia 12 years ago. At the time, I found it difficult to obtain the correct diagnosis from my local doctor, until I started to do my own research and came across Ataxia UK. After joining the charity, and finding out about the large number of different ataxias, I started to receive medical publications and information from Neurologists about the condition and was finally able to obtain a correct diagnosis of Cerebellar ataxia.