Howard has bagfuls of personality - charm, charisma, intelligence, a great sense of humour and a degree in computing. He also has Wilson's Disease which has devastated his life.

At just 23 he was struck down with the rare genetic disorder that left him paralysed, unable to speak clearly, and with permanent brain damage.

His problems started when he was at Kingston University. He became unusually tired and his speech and lack of balance gave all the indications that he had spent too long at the student bar. Then his co-ordination became affected, his limbs went into spasms and finally paralysis set in.

Eventually he was diagnosed with Wilson's disease, a genetic defect which results in the body retaining copper until it builds up to toxic levels causing liver failure, brain damage and, if untreated, death.

"It was a gradual progression for the symptoms to build up until the point I was paralysed," he said.

His condition improved after treatment but he was left barely able to stand and with permanent damage which affected his speech and other cognitive functions.

Then came his first bit of good news. There was a vacancy at the Banstead Place Brain Injury Centre run by the Queen Elizabeth's Foundation and he moved in to begin an exhausting two-year period of rehabilitation.

"When I arrived I could push a wheelchair around but it was difficult," he said. "The physio department has rebuilt me. I still have some problems with one of my hands but they have helped me so much. I have been on quite a journey since I got here."

It wasn't just the physical aspects of his illness that he was helped to address. Like many people who suffer from brain injury, he was angry about his fate and had no idea how to cope with the anger or recognise it. With the help of psychologists, however, he was able to come to terms with his illness and its consequences.

"I had gone from being a laid back, flexible sort of person to someone who got angry very easily - I struggled with that for a while," he said.

Howard, who now lives in his own flat at Banstead Place and copes with his own cooking, housework and laundry, is about to move out and start the next period of his life.

His speech is fluent, he can walk reasonably easily and is red hot at IT. He has just designed and built his own computer and is looking forward to what lies ahead.

But although no one could say that anyone unfortunate enough to suffer from Wilsons's Disease is lucky, he was luckier than many people in his position.

The Brain Injury Centre in Park Road, Banstead is the only centre of its type in the UK specialising in the rehabilitation and education of young adults aged from 16 to 35 who have acquired brain injury through accident or illness.

Every year more than 1,000,000 people attend hospital following a head injury and 4,500 of them will be severely brain damaged and have substantial cognitive, behavioural, emotional, physical and communication problems.

But Banstead Place can only accept up to 28 residents at a time with each one only offered a place after a lengthy period of assessment.

The high staffing levels and multi-disciplinary approach means that the centre has earned an international reputation and has national specialist college status.

It helps its residents by approaching every aspect of their problems through an individually designed timetable of activities and programmes to work on their physical, cognitive, emotional and language difficulties.

A common misconception is that brain injury means stupidity. It doesn't. It means that the damaged brain has to find other ways of dealing with cognitive function such as speech and memory, which is why the Banstead Place programmes are specially designed for each resident.

People who have been affected may have to re-learn basic educational skills that have been lost or learn new skills.

They may also have to deal with loss of memory, loss of language, difficulties with attention span, perception and organisation.

The comprehensive rehabilitation programme builds on surviving skills and develops new ones to help the centre's residents towards a rich and fulfilling life.

People coming to Banstead have their own bed-sitting rooms and lots of help from the staff to help them with daily tasks before moving on to semi-supported accommodation where help is available. Finally, like Howard, to independent accommodation in the centre.

To help the residents make the transition, the occupational therapy department comes into its own. Students relearn basic skills or develop new strategies to cope with everything from personal hygiene to cooking, laundry, budgeting and time management.

Each step forward is a step towards self-confidence, one of the hardest journeys the residents have to make.

Banstead Place offers comprehensive education and training opportunities and a huge range of activities icluding art and design, woodwork, pottery as well as its horticultural sessions which enable students to develop practical skills in gardening both in the greenhouse and the garden.

But life at Banstead is not all hard work. There is a flourishing recreation and leisure department which organises a range of activities both at the centre and in the community where learning new skills is heavily disguised as fun.

On the menu is ten pin bowling, gym, snooker, swimming, trampolining, music, yoga, football, hockey, cricket, basketball, arts and crafts , theatre and cinema visits and day trips and some ambitious and exciting activity holidays.

Eileen Jackman, principal of the Brain Injury Centre, believes its success is down to staff with specialist skills and the atmosphere at Banstead.

"I hope the atmosphere is positive and optimistic.

"I remember one girl who arrived and wouldn't let go of her mother, when her mother had to leave she clung on to the rail round the wall - she wouldn't let go. But two years later she was the life and soul of the place. Marvellous things do happen here."

Her assistant Valerie Fox added: "That is the satisfaction my job gives me. I remember what people are like when they arrive and what they are like when they leave us - they are totally different and that is wonderful."