Helping Ryan with his feelings of isolation

Ryan is 11 years old. He cares for his mum who has long-term mental health conditions and his two brothers who both have autistic spectrum disorder. When we began working with Ryan he was feeling low and frustrated. He was missing out on activities and opportunities and feeling isolated. Ryan’s mum told us that he would often ‘bear the brunt’ of her emotions due to the stresses of their family life.

Ryan came along to our Heroes Group. This is for 8-12 year olds to help raise self-esteem, learn coping strategies and build relationships through creative and fun activities.

However, Ryan was anxious and found it difficult to join in with the other children. With some extra support, he decided to ‘try again’. His determination and courage meant that his summer has been one to remember.

Ryan has benefited from one-to-one support with our young carers family support worker and he has joined in with our activities. He has been to the Peoples Kitchen and learned how to cook a healthy meal, and enjoyed friendship and time away from his caring responsibilities on a residential trip to Magdalen Farm. Ryan told us he “loved the low ropes and when all the young carers had a water fight in the stream.” His whole family came to our Family Fun Day, a rare event where they
could all be supported to join in.

But, perhaps the most important change for Ryan is realising that he’s not alone and that there are other children like him. He told us “Even when I was struggling you didn’t give up on me.”