As a parent of a disabled or sick child you face many challenges, read onto hear how we can support you.
David is 50 and, along with his wife, cares for his 14-year-old son Mark who has developmental dyspraxia.
David works full time but his wife gave up her full-time job to work more flexibly to help support their son.
“The diary rules our lives and has done since the time Mark began receiving specialist help, with different things happening each day.”
David says that when Mark got to secondary school they decided it was time to tackle the carer’s assessment issue.
Eventually, the assessment identified getting a budget for after-school care as our main priority. “But it took a lot of persistence to move things forward while continuing to juggle his care, our work and some kind of home life which was tiring and stressful.”
Eventually, Mark was awarded a personal budget for two sessions of after-school support per week.
“I know just how important advice and guidance is to managing your caring situation.”
Mark still needs some support in the morning. Buttons are difficult for him, so school uniform is adapted with Velcro. He also needs help with breakfast as his hands are still quite shaky.
“Enabling him to be more confident and independent is a big part of our lives and as he has always been a sports fanatic I have spent literally hundreds of hours enabling Mark to develop skills. Fortunately, I enjoy sports.”
Both David and his wife receive regular support from their local Carers Centre, accessing counselling, therapies and a Parent Carer Support Group.
David says, ‘The Carers Centre is an invaluable one-stop shop that supports and helps you to deal with the myriad of problems and challenges that you face on a daily basis. It helps to know that other parents can sometimes feel as lost as we do on occasions.’
For information on all of ECC’s support groups click here.
