I’m the only family member for my brother aged 52 with Asperger’s and my mother, aged 88, who has dementia. So, if I can’t see anything about my relationship with my brother as a positive, how do I, as a great believer in the life-changing effects of focusing on positives, find a positive in having … Continued
My employer was supportive when I told them I was a carer and, given that my team had all been working remotely from home anyway due to the pandemic, there were no work issues with me working from my mum’s house. I was able to flex my working hours to suit me, so that I … Continued
A well-meaning HR Manager once told me that she understood the difficulties I was having juggling issues with my brother’s care and a full-time job because she was a working parent and she too had the juggle childcare and work. I responded (perhaps slightly unfairly on reflection) by pointing out that as a parent she’d … Continued
My brother is in his 50s and lives semi-independently with the help of myself and carers. Before coronavirus was an issue, he spent his week doing activities at a local centre and enjoyed drumming and ballroom dancing lessons. My brother has anxiety and traits of autism, so these activities were great for helping him to … Continued
The impact of Covid has been huge. Probably not in such an obvious way as other people, but in ways that have had a cumulative effect on my disabled sister, myself and our parents. Our father is on the extremely vulnerable list, both parents are over-70, and my sister needs to shield for her own … Continued
Thinking about the impact of Covid on me and my family… I don’t really know where to start. I am coping and we are coping because we have to. I feel at the minute that there will be a cost to this coping and I am worried about what this means for the future – … Continued