Caring

If you have someone in your family with HD you might not feel like a carer but you might find that you have to help out with things for them. You might find that you take on some responsibilities that are normally things done by adults and this might make you feel quite different to your friends.

Caring can mean a lot of things, it might mean you do practical things like shopping/cooking/cleaning. It might mean that you help someone physically like helping them get dressed / helping them when they are walking. Or it may mean that you help someone emotionally – that you listen to the things that they are struggling with or try and keep them cheery.

You might have other people in the house who do most of the caring but you help out now and then, or you might be the only person there and you do all the caring.

Caring can be really hard, it might make you feel different from your friends and it might make you feel that you can’t always do the things you want to do because you don’t want to leave the person you are caring for. It might also mean that you struggle with other things; you might find that you are often late for school or that you struggle to get your homework done.

Lot’s of people don’t tell other people they are a carer, they might be scared about what would happen if they did, or they might be embarrassed.

It’s important to know that there is support out there for young carers, have a look at youngcarers.net. You may also find that if you can tell someone at school they can help you. Often there is help available for the person you are caring for.

The Huntington’s Disease Association has a team of Regional Care Advisers who you can speak to for more advice. You can contact your local care adviser through Head Office on 0151 331 5444 or info@hda.org.uk

Article about a girl in Scotland who's caring for her mother.