The first thing you learn when you start working with disabled children is that they are totally different from each other. I know, it sounds obvious –we are all different people after all, and it stands to reason that disabled kids should also be afforded a personality, in fact they sometimes have different ones!

We use to take the children out for walks,
for swims, for shopping and anything else
other children gets to do

I had the wonderful opportunity to work at a home for mentally disabled children. The house where I worked held five kids between five and 22, with five carers.

Me, I was shocked. The first week I was down on my knees trying to remember names, routines, medicines and parents. But that is just a small part of working with these children.

You get a chance to take them out to fairs, shows, beaches, see them smile and hear them laugh, but it is not all about caring for their health.

Some of them are very hard to handle; they might be aggressive and scared of everything. They might be very ill so you have to be alert all the time around them. It is even more complicated around other people; outside on the streets, the beaches or at the fair because anything can trigger them.

Many years ago families didn’t have a chance for support and help with their children. It was hard and expensive to get institutional care.

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