Stories

Hadley is 9 years old and lives in Hampshire. He is a twin who was born 3 months premature. As a result of being born this early, Hadley has cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia, which means he needs to use a wheelchair. He also has anxiety.

Elliott from Gloucestershire is 10 years old and a registered carer to his older brother Finley, who has Down's syndrome. Here,‌ ‌in‌ ‌his‌ ‌own‌ ‌words,‌ ‌Elliott ‌describes‌ ‌his‌ ‌life‌ ‌as‌ ‌a‌ ‌young‌ ‌carer‌ ‌to‌ ‌his‌ ‌brother.‌

Amelia from Sussex is the older sister of Isabelle (Izzie), who has cerebral palsy. Izzie has become an inspirational figure to many by overcoming her challenges to win the Pan Disability European Judo Championship in 2017 and 2018 as well as the Sussex Sports Disabled Sports Personality of the Year Award in 2019. Here, in her own words, Amelia describes her life as a young carer to her sister.

Josh from Staffordshire is the elder brother of Harry who has Down's Syndrome. Here, in his own words, Josh describes his life as a young carer for his brother.

11-year-old Alex from Staffordshire is the younger brother to Daniel who has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). Daniel is a full-time wheelchair user and Variety was able to fund a Strikeforce Sports Powerchair for him. He is now losing upper body strength, which means he is reliant on others for his personal care, including one-to-one assistance at school. Here, in his own words, Alex describes his life as a young carer to his brother.

Sophie and Ellie are twin sisters of Finlay who is six and has Epilepsy and Global development delay (GDD). He is also non-verbal. Here, in their own words, Sophie and Ellie describe their lives as young carers to their brother.

Lillian (known as Liddy) is 14 years old and lives with her family in Cornwall. She has a very rare genetic condition called Kleefstra syndrome which is characterised by an intellectual disability. Liddy also fatigues very quickly due to hypertonia and hypermobility syndrome. This means she has always needed to use a wheelchair to take part in most activities and, in the past, relied on her family to push her around.

Ezzy is five years old and she lives with her family in Bristol. She was born with cerebral palsy, which affects all four of her limbs, making them stiff and contracted. To get around, Ezzy uses a walking frame and wears orthotics daily. She is also on the autistic spectrum and has a sensory processing disorder, a condition where the brain has trouble receiving and responding to information that comes in through the senses.

My name is Daniel and I am 14 years old. I was born with a condition called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a degenerative condition where the muscles waste away over time. It means that whilst others gain more physical skills as they get older, I go the opposite way.

Levi and Lucas are 13-year-old twins. They were adopted in 2008 when they were two years old. Both Levi and Lucas are on the autistic spectrum and they also have complex epilepsy along with learning difficulties. The boys are prone to focal and tonic seizures which start in a limited area on one side of the brain and then spread to both sides. This means they are severely affected by all their conditions.