Parents and caregivers play an essential role in the lives of their children with IDD, helping to ensure their overall health and wellbeing, and supporting their social and emotional needs.  The complex role of caring for a family member with IDD can be both a challenging and rewarding experience for caregivers and their families. In this episode, we delve into the parent’s perspective of caring for a child with an intellectual or developmental disability, talking to CAMH's own Lee Steel and Amy Baskin. Join us and find out the highs and the not-so-highs of being a parent to an adult child with IDD, and the life lessons learned along the way.

Lee Steel is a Family Advisor at the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, where she brings the parent perspective to all of our research endeavours. Lee has been involved in the development and facilitation of the Azrieli Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Training (ACT) Groups for Caregivers. Amy Baskin is a freelance writer and educator who has supported the creation of the Azrieli Centre’s mindfulness workbook and facilitated our most recent COVID-19 virtual course for family caregivers Course targeted at improving the mental health of caregivers during the pandemic.

To view the video recordings from our course, Mental health for adults with developmental disabilities during COVID: A virtual course for family caregivers visit the course webpage and our YouTube channel.

You can also visit our H-CARDD COVID page for up-to-date vaccine information and other resources.

The Family Matters Toolkit includes tools and resources specifically for family caregivers, to help you and your loved one prepare and participate in health care visits: