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Older carers and adults with learning disabilities; stress and reciprocal care
- Author:
- GANT Valerie
- Journal article citation:
- Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 7(2), Autumn 2010, pp.160-172.
- Publisher:
- South West Yorkshire Mental Health NHS Trust and University of Huddersfield
This paper presents some of the findings from a qualitative study which explored the perceptions of stress and experiences of the longevity of care giving of older carers of adults with learning disabilities together with the views of people with learning disabilities about their relationship with their parents. Twenty four adults over the age of 60 who were carers for adults with learning disabilities living in the community were interviewed and 14 adults with learning disabilities who lived with carers older than 60 participated in focus groups. Five major themes emerged from the interviews with carers: a high degree of stress; how much their lives revolved around their child; support given to them by the adult with learning disability; reluctance to use respite services, linked to their previous experiences; not defining themselves as carers, instead viewing their parenting role as a permanent one. Major themes that emerged from the focus groups were: a high level of concern regarding their parents; the amount of practical and emotional support they gave to their parents; restriction placed on their lives, either by their parents or self-imposed so their parents would not be left on their own; lack of planning for the future; lack of knowledge regarding their available options. The author comments that the findings show that there is often co-caring between the older carer and their relative with a learning disability, and that the amount and quality of mutual caring is frequently overlooked by service providers and professionals.
‘Reflections on a birthday’: an auto-ethnographic account of caring for a child with a learning disability
- Author:
- GANT Valerie
- Journal article citation:
- Qualitative Social Work, 16(5), 2017, pp.734-741.
- Publisher:
- Sage
This commentary offers some of the author’s experiences of parenting a child with a severe learning disability and complex and challenging behaviours. Drawing on principles of auto-ethnography and critical reflection, the author considers issues of transition from children’s to adult social care services and the potential for support from a new piece of UK Legislation, the Care Act, 2014. (Publisher abstract)