Reading young carer on what it is like to look after her brother
Alex says the most important thing about being a young carer for her brother is developing a personal connection with him. The 16-year-old from Reading has been helping her family look after Teddy since he was a baby.Now 10 years old, Teddy has been diagnosed with epilepsy, ADHD, autism, sensory processing disorder and a number of learning difficulties.To mark Young Carers Action Day on Wednesday, Alex explained what it was like looking after her brother, while juggling life as a teenager.
The annual day of recognition is a campaign run by charity Carers Trust as a way to shine a light on the care work done by children across the UK.
'It's relentless'
Talking to BBC Radio Berkshire, Alex explained: "We try to help Teddy and our parents as much as we can. A lot of it is personal care."[Teddy] really likes routine, so I help in the morning before school, after school, during the night - he's not the best sleeper."In emergency situations, because he has epilepsy, he has seizures quite frequently so then it's getting in contact with the paramedics and also general household tasks like cooking, laundry, cleaning."Their mum Tamsin says school holidays prove particularly challenging, with the routine changes and her older children needing time to revise.She said: "We do have to put a lot of thinking into the holidays. I think the challenge is trying to meet everyone's needs and making sure they can get their quiet time."Both my husband and I just feel very, very fortunate to have help from the siblings, because it is relentless, it never stops."
Alex says her time at school is usually her chance to have a break and she has a "really supportive" group of friends who have known her since she was six."Sometimes it takes a while to explain to them, I very rarely have people come over to my house because it can get a little chaotic and disorganised," she said.Despite this, Alex believes caring for Teddy has given her useful life skills."For me the most important thing is I'm able to help my brother and really develop that personal connection with him, which I really enjoy," she explained."But also, I could probably cook a meal a lot earlier than my friends, I know how to use the washing machine, all these sort of skills will definitely help me later in life."
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