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About Joe

Joe is 16 and lives with his sister and mother. Joe's mother has a physical disability and has received a recent diagnosis of fibromyalgia. This impacts on her ability to parent to her full potential. Her declining physical wellbeing means she often has restricted mobility and high pain levels. Her symptoms also include extreme lethargy and frequent bouts of low mood. 

Image by Ben den Engelsen

Case Study: Young Carer Joe

Joe's Tasks At Home
What sort of tasks do you think Joe might have to do to help his mother? Select all answers that you think apply.

Joe could be responsible for doing all of these things around the home to help his mother and his younger sister.

Joe has presented as being very withdrawn and tired in school, and he frequently arrives late to lessons with his younger sister. When the teacher asks him about this, Joe breaks down in tears and says that he likes coming to school because it gives him a break from the things he has to do at home.

At this stage, Joe is identified as a Young Carer.

Assessment

Joe’s form teacher speaks to Joe about a referral to the local Carers Support Organisation. A Young Carer’s Support Worker meets Joe at school and meets with his family at home. The Support Worker completes an assessment with Joe, which looks at the whole family’s needs and what is important to Joe.

  • Adult Carers
    Adult Carers care for other adults over the age of 18. This includes adults caring for their adult children.
  • Young Carers
    Young Carers are children and young people between the ages of 5 and 18 who provide regular and on-going care and/or emotional support to a family member who is physically or mentally ill, disabled or has an addiction.
  • Parent Carers
    Parent Carers are those caring for a disabled child or young person under the age of 18. Parents will often see themselves primarily as parents, however their child will have additional care needs and may be entitled to additional services.
  • Working Carers
    Working Carers are people in full or part-time employment, who also provide care for another person. Supporting Carers to remain in work can bring considerable benefits to Carers themselves, employers and the wider economy.
  • Sandwich Carers
    Sandwich Carers have more than one caring responsibility; for example, Carers could be caring for two family members, such as an elderly relative and a dependent child or a spouse (Carers UK 2012).
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