Guardians

Rampant levels of AIDS and poverty have made many children in sub-Saharan Africa the primary caregivers of their ageing or ailing guardians. This paper reports on a social action fund initiative that brought caregiving children together to set-up and run income generating activities as a group with the aim of strengthening their coping capabilities.

In this chapter the author recounts her personal experiences of being a carer for her son and her interaction with social services in Scotland. The author's son is now over 30 years old and is on the autistic spectrum, has obsessive compulsive disorder and a learning disability. She recounts the early difficulties she had in dealing with health and educational professionals as she tried to achieve the best possible care for her son. Many of the professionals she encountered were unable to appreciate the importance of integrating her son into as many normal daily activities as possible.