Overview of Respite

Caring for a dependent family member can be a rewarding, life-enriching experience.  It can also at times, be tedious, exhausting, and stressful. One way caregivers, people with the every-day responsibility of caring for another dependent individual, can decrease the exhaustion and stress is to ensure periods of time away from their care-giving responsibilities.

Caregiver relief can mean many different things to different people.  It can mean a couple of hours when a child is in school or when an aging parent is at a social club.  It can mean 4 to 5 hours when a sitter is in the home or a weekend when the parents/guardians can go away together.  It can mean a couple of weeks of relief enabling all other family members to go on vacation together.

Some families have a limited support network of friends, relatives, and neighbours. Some caregivers are hampered by limited financial resources. In some families, natural forms of relief such as grandparents baby-sitting can't occur because a family member requires specialized and/or intensive care.

Benefits of Respite

It is generally believed to be true that the family is the best place for any child's development. However, one cannot expect the family alone to meet all the extra demands for care of a child with a physical disability or developmental delay. That is why, since the mid 1970's the push has been on to establish family relief programs.

There are many benefits to caregiver relief - some apparent and some that are not so apparent. The obvious and intended benefactors are the primary caregivers, often the parents. After periods of relief there is frequently a notable improvement in the caregiver’s satisfaction with life in general. They feel more hopeful about the future. Their ability to cope with everyday stress increases. Their attitude toward all their children, including, or maybe especially the child with a disability, is much more positive. These are just a few of the benefits that relate specifically to the parents.  However, other people are affected as well.  Often children with a sibling with a disability benefit from periods of time when that brother or sister is not at home.  Siblings often actively participate in the care of a brother or sister who has a disability.  They help with feeding, toileting, entertaining or just keeping an eye on them.  A break from this routine is rejuvenating for them as well as their parents. Sometimes children who have a siblings with a disability feel that they are neglected simply because of the amount of time and effort required of the parents to look after a child with a disability.  During periods of relief the able-bodied child can then become the focus of attention.

Let's not forget the benefits to the child with a disability: there actually are some!  A child who is being cared for away from home often has a unique opportunity to socialize with other children their own age.  Often impromptu camp-like weekends can occur when one child plans a stay in a centre, then asks friends to come along for a fun weekend of movies, recreation, and socialization.  Some children like using respite because they are aware of the added responsibility they place on their parents.  They like to know their parents are able to get away and really relax.  Others, obviously the older ones, stay at a respite facility at exam time as they find it easier to study because of fewer distractions such as the telephone.  The ultimate benefit is that the regular use of good respite care services can decrease or delay the number of admissions to institutions and group homes.