Coventry-based exhibition dedicated to helping people with disabilities and carers doubled in size
A Coventry-based exhibition dedicated to helping young people with disabilities and their carers has doubled in size ahead of its tenth anniversary.
The Kidz to Adultz exhibition has been exhibiting at the Ricoh Arena since 2009 and in that time has seen its number of exhibitors grow from 70 in the first year to more than 130 in 2018, while the number of visitors have risen from 1,400 initially to more than 3,000 last year.
The exhibition is organised by charity Disabled Living, and enables children and young adults, their carers and the professionals who support them to view the most up-to-date equipment, services and seminar-based advice to help improve individuals’ independence and quality of life.
A core part of the show also provides people with disabilities and additional needs access to funding streams to purchase specialised equipment, respite care and much more which often runs into thousands of pounds.
Carmel Hourigan, senior manager at Disabled Living, has overseen the development of the show in Coventry which returns for its tenth edition at the Ricoh Arena on Thursday, March 21 2019.
She said: “This exhibition reflects the real issues that more than 800,000 under-25s with disabilities and their carers are experiencing in day-to-day life in the UK, which is why it has grown consistently year-on-year often via word of mouth.
“Bringing up a child with a disability can be a challenging and sometimes an overwhelming experience, whether it is knowing how to handle a particular condition or finding the money for a piece of equipment to improve their quality of life – which is particularly pertinent in an age where technology is advancing so much.
“At this year’s show there is a particular demand to talk about the process to follow when booking a flight abroad, adopting practical approaches to improve sleep patterns and creating behaviour plans to combat challenging behaviour.
“A lot of our visitors come back year-after-year who often bring new faces along with them which has seen the show grow steadily but consistently every year.”
The Kidz to Adultz exhibition is situated in the Ricoh Arena’s Ericsson Indoor Arena, where the show has also doubled its show space from 2,000 square metres to 4,000 square metres.
Caroline Lissaman, head of event management at the Ricoh Arena, added: “The Kidz to Adultz exhibition is what we are all about as an events venue in terms of helping shows to develop and grow – and we’re very proud to be marking ten years with the show.
“It is important that exhibitions that provide a vital service to so many people are as accessible as possible, and given our venue is within two hours’ drive of 75 per cent of the UK’s population, we feel we can help Carmel and her team to continue on their trajectory of growth over the coming years.”
For more information about the Kidz to Adultz exhibition visit www.kidzexhibitions.co.uk/kidz-middle.