This Neurodiversity Week (18th - 24th March) 2024, independent fostering agency The Fostering Team is sharing the story of a single parent of a neurodivergent child. It hopes to raise awareness of what it’s like to raise a neurodivergent child, as well as to encourage anyone who feels as though they could foster a neurodivergent child to do so.
Tina, aged 40, is a single parent based in Chester. She currently fosters a six-year-old neurodivergent child alongside her role in litigation.
Raising awareness of neurodiversity is something Tina is passionate about, and this has extended to the care of neurodivergent children since she started parenting her foster son two years ago.
While she acknowledges that fostering children with additional needs can be challenging, ultimately it’s the most rewarding thing she’s ever done.
She said: “I’ve had so many positive experiences when it comes to fostering but I think if you’re giving love and you get it back, you must have done something right.”
Tina was also rewarded for her hard work with her foster son, helping him progress from being mostly non-verbal and using Makaton to speaking in sentences in just six months.
Neurodiversity Celebration Week is a global event that tackles negative ideas and misunderstandings about neurological differences. It aims to completely change how people see and support those with neurodiversity by giving schools, universities and workplaces the chance to recognise the many skills and strengths that come with being neurodivergent. It also aims to create more accepting and fair environments that celebrate differences and give everyone the chance to reach their full potential.
Tina urged anyone thinking about fostering to seek out more information and encouraged them to ‘go for it’.
“Caring for children and showing them love makes a huge difference to them and that’s what I want to achieve,” she said. “Even if it’s short-term or respite care - it makes a huge difference in their lives because you don’t know what might happen to them without that extra support.”
For more information about becoming a foster parent, please visit the website or email [email protected]
