I am the father of a 38-year-old man with a severe learning disability (LD), autism, epilepsy and a number of other things. This is Chris (pictured). My wife (his Mum) passed away ten years ago, having been caught by cancer.

There has been research establishing that parent/carers of people with a LD suffer from more stress than the average parent, and the NIHR is funding research to show that they ‘we’ also suffer from mental health problems – presumably more than other parents.

This wasn’t really a problem for me until the cancer got Sally. I had to retire early on ill health grounds. Before that I was the ‘hunter gatherer’, but now I am all things to him.

I am a Public adviser (PA) co-lead / deputy for the Person Centred Complex Care Theme and proud to be.

Alan Griffiths.