Mother and daughter’s disability award
A Highland Perthshire mother and daughter have been recognised at Scotland’s Learning Disability Awards for their pioneering work.
Kate and Jenny Sanger, from Pitlochry, were joint winners in the category of‘family carer’and were recognised at an awards ceremony held in Edinburgh, on the May 18.
Kate cares for her daughter Laura, a young woman with Cornelia De Lange Syndrome, a genetic disorder resulting in severe learning disabilities and communication support needs. Kate gave up her career as a nurse and trained herself and Laura’s carers in understanding behaviours that challenge and finding strategies to manage them.
Kate’s daughter Jenny is also a carer for Laura, combining this with studying for a doctorate. Together, they have created a bespoke ‘communication passport’resource. Jenny is hoping to develop an app in partnership with the University of Edinburgh to make using the communication passport as accessible as possible for families.
Kate said:“I am hugely honoured to be recognised for the work that myself and Jenny have done in acting as carers for Laura and supporting others who face similar challenges in their day to day lives.
“Most importantly, I hope that this award can raise awareness of the issues that we and many others have to confront, and support our work to ensure that everyone with a learning disability has a voice in how they would like their life to be without restrictive practices and that all carers are trained in behavioural support.” Peter Devlin Kate and Jenny Sanger from Pitlochry picked up the‘family carer’award at Scotland’s Learning Disability Awards 2018. Pic: