Let's Take Care - Support for Carers of Disabled Children and Young Adults

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Welcome to Let’s Take Care. In this episode, we’re talking to someone who knows only too well what it means to fight for your child.
Jane Holmes, CEO of Building for the Future, has written Extreme Parenting, a deeply personal account of raising her daughter Kitty, now 24, who has Cerebral Palsy.
It’s a story about love, exhaustion, resilience and the constant battles that so many families of disabled children face behind closed doors. 
But it’s also a challenge to the misconceptions and negative attitudes surrounding disability - and a call for change.
In this episode, Jane talks honestly about why she felt compelled to write the book, the experiences that shaped it, and why she has chosen to donate all of the profits to the chairty Building for the Future.

https://www.bftf.org.uk/
Email us at: letstakecare@bftf.org.uk

#DisabilityAwareness #ChronicIllness #HiddenDisability #SENDParent #AdditionalNeeds #SpecialNeedsParent #DisabilityCommunity #InclusiveFamilies #CarersUK

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In Episode 11 of Let's Take Care, we explore the growing number of celebrities and public figures who are sharing their experiences of raising disabled children and young people.
From social media posts to TV interviews and documentaries, these voices are helping to bring SEND family life into the mainstream, raising awareness, challenging stereotypes and helping other parents feel less alone.
We discuss the impact of this increased visibility, the opportunities it creates for advocacy and change, and whether there is still more to be done to ensure disabled children, young adults and their families are truly represented.
We also reflect on the much-loved poem Welcome to Holland by Emily Perl Kingsley, recently shared by Jesy Nelson, and ask why it continues to resonate so deeply with parents nearly four decades after it was written.
Join us for an honest, thoughtful and uplifting conversation about visibility, advocacy, acceptance and the power of sharing our stories.
https://www.bftf.org.uk/
Email us at: letstakecare@bftf.org.uk

#DisabilityAwareness #ChronicIllness #HiddenDisability #SENDParent #AdditionalNeeds #SpecialNeedsParent #DisabilityCommunity #InclusiveFamilies #CarersUK

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What's it like to find out you have autism as an adult? 
In this episode Melissa and Jane sit down with Steve, an adoptive dad and charity volunteer, to talk honestly about parenting two teenagers with neurodivergence.
Steve shares the story of his own autism diagnosis as an adult, and how that helped him support his children.
We also get into self-care that actually works for neurodivergent adults: reducing the constant mental noise, setting boundaries around socialising, and finding environments where you can thrive. Steve reflects on work, inclusion, and why he sometimes prefers a bit of chaos, plus what he has learned from volunteering with adoption and disability communities where “like recognises like” and families finally feel seen.

If you know someone parenting through diagnosis, disability, adoption, autism or ADHD, share this conversation with them, and if it helps, please subscribe and leave a review so more carers and dads can find it.

https://www.bftf.org.uk/
Email us at: letstakecare@bftf.org.uk

#DisabilityAwareness #ChronicIllness #HiddenDisability #SENDParent #AdditionalNeeds #SpecialNeedsParent #DisabilityCommunity #InclusiveFamilies #CarersUK

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One cancelled care shift can wipe out a whole day.
Parent carers often seem able to do it all -  because they have to, but that can make friends, family, and professionals assume they can cope without them, and because of that, sometimes, people let them down.
Caring for a child with profound disabilities is not just “busy”. It is a constant mix of medical needs, physical lifting, education battles, and the emotional weight of being the only person who truly knows what “normal” looks like for your child. 
In this episode Melissa and Jane discuss what "help" really looks like when you're mum to a disabled child, and how friends, family and even strangers can lighten the load.  
They talk about why asking for help can feel impossible when your child has complex medical needs, and why respite care can be something you desperately need yet still dread.  If you’ve ever felt guilty for needing a break or judged for not taking one, you’re not alone.

Listen now for real-life tips for supporting parent carers, and a clearer picture of what “showing up” really means.

Subscribe, share with someone who needs this conversation, and leave us a review with the kind of help you wish people offered more often.
#ParentCarer #CarerLife #Caregiving #DisabilityAwareness #SpecialNeedsParent #SENDParent #ComplexNeeds #DisabilitySupport #InvisibleLoad #ChronicCare
 #YouAreNotAlone #RealTalk #HonestMotherhood #MentalLoad #CaregiverBurnout #ItsOkayToNotBeOkay #ParentingReality #UnseenStruggles
 #SupportMatters #ShowUp #CommunitySupport #HelpingOthers #BeThere #StrongerTogether #KindnessCounts

https://www.bftf.org.uk/
Email us at: letstakecare@bftf.org.uk

#DisabilityAwareness #ChronicIllness #HiddenDisability #SENDParent #AdditionalNeeds #SpecialNeedsParent #DisabilityCommunity #InclusiveFamilies #CarersUK

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When you've seen your child almost die numerous times and you've been living on your nerves for years, your priorities change.
You change. Forever.
Friendships lapse and new friendships form - forged through common hardships.
In this episode of Let's Take Care, mums Jane and Melissa discuss how handling their daughters' illnesses has shaped them.
The two friends explain how trauma has changed their take on life - but they wouldn't have it any other way.
In their usual warm and witty way, Mel and Jane's love and compassion shines through as they talk about their experiences and offer support for other parents of children and young people with disabilities. 
https://www.bftf.org.uk/
Email us at: letstakecare@bftf.org.uk

#DisabilityAwareness #ChronicIllness #HiddenDisability #SENDParent #AdditionalNeeds #SpecialNeedsParent #DisabilityCommunity #InclusiveFamilies #CarersUK