Informal Carers of Adolescents and Adults with Learning Difficulties from the South Asian Communities: Family Circumstances, Service Support and Carer Stress

On the basis of a total identification survey in two metropolitan boroughs, 54 people from the south Asian communities caring for people with learning difficulties aged 14 or over were interviewed regarding family circumstances, service supports and levels of stress. In general, families were living in circumstances of material disadvantage and reported a high need for services, due to a lack of informal support and the considerable support needs of many of the people with learning difficulties. Carer awareness and receipt of specialist intellectual disability services were, however, low. A lack of information and staff with appropriate language skills, coupled with a general neglect of the cultural and religious needs of service users and carers, appeared to result in low service uptake and low levels of satisfaction with services. Eight per cent of carers reported levels of stress indicative of psychiatric problems, and also reported high levels of contact with health services. There was some evidence that services were not allocated according to need; carers with low household incomes reported higher levels of stress, but carers with higher household incomes received a wider range of services. The implications of these findings for services are discussed.