DOCTRID is a unique Irish-led international research network of scientists, disability service providers, practitioners and industry partners. It was established in 2010 by RESPECT and the Daughters of Charity Disability Support Services to coordinate and support cutting edge research and training in intellectual disabilities and/or autism.

DOCTRID is one of the largest programmes in the world devoted to ID and/or autism research consisting of 20 institutions and organisations across Ireland, the UK and US. Its aims are to

• Train the future leaders in ID research and practice
• Promote multidisciplinary research to ensure quality and relevance. This means psychologists, engineers, occupational therapists, computer scientists, educators, disability services, speech and language therapists all working together
• Produce top quality research which will inform policy and practice
• Have person centered research at the heart of all we do
• Raise awareness of the potential of technology as a tool to enhance opportunities for communication, education, employment, independent living and social inclusion but to also..
• Remember that technology is not a magic solution-it is a tool which needs to meet the needs of the individual
• Increase society’s expectations of what people with ID or autism can achieve with the right supports

The two main research programmes currently running within the DOCTRID Research Institute are the €9M EU Marie Curie ASSISTID programme, cofunded by RESPECT and the EU, and the Michigan State University (MSU)-DOCTRID Hegarty Fellowship programme. Up to 49 researchers will be funded over the next 3 years to investigate how assistive technologies and other supports can be used to increase communication, social inclusion, education and employment for people with ID or autism.