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Respite brings family benefits as mum praises DIY Club

This week is National Family Week (May 30 – June 5) and an Aberdeenshire family is stronger than ever thanks to respite care from a social work service that provides them with the opportunity to take the time out they need.

Jennifer Shewan, from Insch said she would be stuck without the DIY Club, a respite service run by Aberdeenshire Council’s children and disabilities team that provides support once a fortnight for her daughter Morgan who has Downs Syndrome.

Jennifer, 39, said eight-year-old Morgan, who also attends St Andrews School, Inverurie has been going to the DIY club, based at Kintore Family Resource Centre, since May last year and has seen her gain in confidence ever since.

The DIY club has also received positive inspections from the Care Commission (now Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland) for its work with children and parents as well as day respite for children with disabilities at weekends.

Two groups attend the weekend respite service fortnightly on Saturdays, from 10am to 3.30pm where a supervisor and three carers provide a range of activities to provide respite for families of children with disabilities as well as developing their skills.

Recent Care Commission inspections commended DIY club staff who they found to be working well with the children and their families to achieve their aims of providing respite for parents while offering a fun meeting place for children.

Jennifer finds the club to be invaluable and said it means she can spend time with her seven-year-old son, Gregor, while daughter Morgan has fun at the respite centre she has grown to love.

“I can relax as I know Morgan is having fun, is happy and I can have my time too.

“My son Gregor gets a bit of mummy-time, so it works out for everyone, she gets her time, he gets his and I get mine too,” said Jennifer.

It’s a year since Morgan started going to the club and although Jennifer was nervous about leaving her for the first time she said her daughter now loves going to the centre and can’t wait to go as she shouts ‘bye mum’ as soon as she gets there.

Morgan is cared for around the clock by Jennifer and stepdad Graham who have both noticed a difference in their daughter who has grown up and become more independent.

Jennifer said: “If it wasn’t for the DIY club I’d be stuck, the staff there are brilliant, they understand Morgan and give her and the other kids there everything they need.

“My family are a great help too but DIY club is amazing as it gives me respite so that I can spend time with my son.

“Morgan gets care at the DIY club and it has really built her confidence as well as provide her opportunities to socialise and learn new skills.

“A couple of weeks ago the group went tubing and it was great to see the photos of Morgan taking part, it amazed me. Going to the group has really helped her independence and seeing her interact with other children as well as staff is great, I’m so happy at how she has developed.”

Jennifer was referred to the DIY club by her children with disabilities social worker and made the decision to send Morgan to the group after realising that as she got older her needs would change and ever since the club has become a big part of their lives.

DIY Club manager Carol Hauley said: “We have received good inspection reports for the two respite groups we run at Kintore Family Resource Centre and it is fantastic to get such high praise from parents like Jennifer as the staff work extremely hard and care for all the children who attend.

“Family week is all about celebrating families and I think too the role we all play in being part of an extended family and supporting parents like Jennifer and children like Morgan to live a happy, healthy life.”

Nick Henry, Founder of National Family Week, said: “National Family Week is committed to promoting positive family life in the UK. It’s great to hear about the fantastic work that Aberdeenshire Council is doing to support families in the area and we look forward to hearing similar inspirational stories in the future.”

For more information about DIY clubs across Aberdeenshire contact 01466 799600 or email: carol.hauley@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

To find out more about national family week visit www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk

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