LIVING WITH A DISABILITY

Giving a little time

My name is Andrew and I became involved with Interchange five years ago when I decided to volunteer to help on a school holiday camp. I met a young boy called Cameron and we got on very well. I later became Cameron's volunteer Host Carer and this opened up a whole new world for me, one that I have found to be most rewarding!

My Host child really enjoys coming to stay, in fact I think if I gave him half a chance he would probably move in permanently. Cameron unfortunately does not have a father and I feel in a small way I help fill this gap for him, which makes me feel very honoured.

Being a Volunteer Host Carer is very rewarding and enables me to develop a better understanding of issues facing families and young people with disabilities in their daily lives.

Being a Host Carer is one of the best things that I have done. By Hosting a child you are also giving much needed relief to the parents, so they can recharge and still provide a high level of care for their much loved child.

I understand that my story is one of many Host carer stories and Interchange volunteering experiences. I can only suggest if you have the time and enjoy children ring Interchange and prepare yourself to do what I have enjoyed for five years' that is to share some of your time with a child and look forward to meeting someone special!

Interchange: "A Sanity Saver"

My husband, Chris and I have a gorgeous 8 year old daughter, Stephanie. She has Autism and a mild Intellectual disability ' and is very beautiful (not that we are biased much!)

Living with a child who has a disability isn't exactly easy. But since we have had an Interchange match, things have changed for all of us. We met our 'match', Donna, in March 1997, and in hindsight it was the first day of the rest of our lives! We haven't looked back.

Donna and Stephanie get on so well that we consider Donna to be a part of our extended family. Even though Stephanie is non-verbal, she still lets us know how excited she is when she is going to stay at Donna's place. They do all sorts of things together and I know they enjoy each other's company.

It is hard to find the right words to express our appreciation to Donna for all her help and for her friendship. 'Thank you' just doesn't seem enough. And also a huge THANK YOU to Interchange for making this 'Perfect Match'.