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Caring for an older family member with learning disabilities
Caring for an older family member with learning disabilities

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1 Thinking the worst … ?

A good place to start when planning is to look at the worst-case scenario and work from there.

Activity 1 What could happen?

Timing: Allow 10 minutes

Look at the statements in the table below and think about those that you think might apply to you – add Yes or No to the right-hand column.

Statement Yes/No
You experience difficulties in talking about the future with your family member and your family.
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Despite your efforts to reassure your family member, she or he is very worried about moving.
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You know your family member best but are worried that others will not have the same understanding.
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You are worried that a change of accommodation will cause more behavioural issues in your family member.
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You and the person you care for have different views about what might be the best option.
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Planning takes up a lot of your time.
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Planning takes a long time.
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You have already had poor experiences of dealing with your local authority (e.g. there is a lack of support, you have been told that support is only available in emergencies, inconsistency between different social workers) and can see history repeating itself.
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You need more support to be able to plan for future changes.
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Even if you found something that works for now, it would be a risk if things could fall apart.
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Previous move(s) broke down and another one might too.
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There is change in the services available.
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There don’t seem to be good options available to your family member in your local area.
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The financial resources and benefits you can use are not enough both now and in the future.
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Your health is deteriorating as you continue to age.
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Words: 0
Interactive feature not available in single page view (see it in standard view).

You may well have ended up with a pretty long list but do not be daunted! There are plenty of things you can do to cope with the challenges that you have identified. You can also feel reassured by the fact that there are sources of help – many of which you may well have been unaware of up until now.

Ways in which you can overcome the challenges and the help available are explored in the rest of this session.