Margaret Smith gets respite
Tireless and devoted mother, Margaret Smith of upper North Shore, is the sole full-time carer of a 36-year-old son with a disability. Thanks to Northcott Disability Services and The Department of Ageing, Disability and Home Care (DADHC), she is now receiving the respite she needs.
Northcott's Flexible Respite service for Ageing Parent Carers provides support to both Margaret and her son Michael who was born with cri du chat syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that results in his development being delayed both physically and intellectually.
Getting a break
Every day without fail, Margaret drops off and collects her son from Minimbah Challenge at Marsfield, a facility that caters for those with an intellectual disability beyond school age. Finding a break is often difficult for Margaret, who also works early hours of the morning, transporting students from their homes in the Northern Sydney area to an intensive reading program based at Hornsby North.
"It's hard for me to go shopping with him or to even make dinner and leave him to watch the television in the other room," Margaret said. "I have to constantly keep an eye out on him as he generally absconds".
The Flexible Respite service for Ageing Parent Carers provides a broad range of high quality and flexible respite options tailored to meet the needs of individuals with disabilities and their families or carers. Margaret makes use of the service's community based respite, which provides time-limited breaks for ageing carers on a planned basis. Margaret welcomes the respite care she receives once a fortnight on weekends, when she needs it the most.
"We require the respite because it's important for Michael to go out in the community and have a break, just as it is important for me to take a break," Margaret said. "It works both ways."
"The beauty of this respite is that you have a normal life, even if it's for a short time," Margaret said. "I really enjoy doing the simple things, such as being able to read the paper with a cup of tea - it really is like a holiday."
Availability
The service is available to carers who live in the local government areas of the Northern Region; including Hornsby, Hunters Hill, Ku-ring-gai, Lane Cove, Mosman, Manly, North Sydney, Pittwater, Ryde, Warringah and Willoughby. Funded by DADHC and supported by Northcott, the service is able to provide respite to 27 individuals in Northern Sydney, with each individual eligible for 168 hours of respite.
This service is new to Northcott and is for carers who are aged between 65 and 69 needing to spend time in hospital, and those aged 70 and over or 45 and over for Indigenous carers. For more information about this service, please contact the Flexible Respite Service Coordinator, Northern Region on (02) 9890 0104. |
