Video Transcription

[Speaker – Isabella]

I’m Isabella. I’m 16, and I am a proud First Nations carer for my younger brother Samuel, who is 10 years old and has high-functioning autism.

Caring for Sam mainly involves getting up and being there for him—making him breakfast and getting his clothes ready for the day. He’s really good and is trying to be more independent, where he’ll attempt to do things on his own.

It didn’t feel like a caring role to me until someone actually told me: “Hey, your brother has a lot more needs, and he needs more attention than you’re giving him.”

Through Carer Gateway, I got access to really good counselling services, which was amazing because I didn’t realise how much I needed that support—just to have an hour to myself to talk about everything and anything.

So, I think it’s really important for carers to actually reach out and get support. When the time comes and you need it, you should definitely reach out.