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Jane Muir
Stopping Caring
Aug 4th
In her regular column for Able magazine, Jane Muir shares her ongoing experiences of life with – and without – her disabled son.
I may be a literacy teacher with a degree in modern languages, but the letters I receive from the benefits agencies leave me struggling. Possibly they constitute some kind of arcane computerised poetry. Although there are recognisable sentences with full stops and capital letters, and these sentences mimic the English language, the meaning remains elusive, with juxtaposed contradictions and staccato and repetitive choruses. The last correspondence from them to me was 25 pages long. Oh bliss! One line even states quite clearly (I think) that my son is a ‘non-dependant’….
Stopping Caring
Mar 1st
In her regular column for Able magazine, Jane Muir shares her ongoing experiences of life with – and without – her disabled son.
2010 started out with the week’s dance course we had fundraised for Alistair to go to at the Orpheus Centre in Surrey, which runs short and long courses in the performing arts for young disabled people. This turned out to be fantastic. Alistair, who has always been interested in the arts and music, had never really felt confident about performing in front of an audience, but the ‘Sensations’ dance workshop culminated in a show with a thirty strong cast in front of family and friends, with a stage, lighting, sound effects, and an interactive background film screen. To my immense relief, Alistair enjoyed every minute, as you can read from his own report below… More >
Stopping Caring
Nov 1st
In her regular column for Able magazine, Jane Muir shares her ongoing experiences of life with – and without – her disabled son.
Well, my son has gone back to residential college. While part of him wanted to stay at home, he was also ‘excited’ and, while part of me would miss him, I was jubilant at the freedom and the opportunity to be myself again – just for a bit.
Stopping Caring
Sep 1st
I had planned so meticulously for the eight weeks’ summer holiday after my son Alistair’s first year at college.
I spent the first week training our two new carers, Katy and Jacques, the idea being that, by week two, they would be confident enough to be left on their own. I’ll never know whether it really was the dreaded swine flu or not but, on the Wednesday of the second week, Alistair woke up with a temperature of 104° and a raging headache. The doctor prescribed Tamiflu. At the time we had no idea that this drug can have side effects for young people that are worse than the flu symptoms themselves. The first pill prompted a day-long marathon of vomiting. We stopped the pills, and three days later he completely recovered, with no symptoms at all.
Stopping Caring
Jul 1st
In her regular column for Able magazine, Jane Muir shares her ongoing experiences of life with – and without – her disabled son.
It is now nearing the end of my son’s first year at a residential college for students with physical disabilities. More >
Stopping Caring
May 1st
In her regular column for Able magazine, Jane Muir shares her ongoing experiences of life with – and without – her disabled son.
My son Alistair has been away at residential college for two terms, and he loves it. More >
Stopping Caring
Apr 1st
Most parents get to seperate from their kids by degrees. in her first column for Able magazine, Jane Muir – the solo carer for her severely diabled son - explains how the separation for her came “suddenly, and not a little painfully”.
My son is 17, and has just left home to go to one of the country’s very few residential colleges for young physically disabled people. It was a move that both of us had yearned for – and yet dreaded at the same time. More >
