Dyan

Foster carer Dyan talks about advocating for your foster children to be the best they can be.

I worked in the social care industry all my life and when my birth children were growing up, I wasn’t ready to stop having children around the house, so my husband and I decided to start fostering. I have now been fostering for 15 wonderful years and currently have five children, three children are adopted and two are in long term foster care.

When I started fostering I had a son and a daughter, my oldest child was 14 years old and we fostered twins who we then adopted.  The twins were a boy and a girl, so the girls would pair up and the boys would pair up and play together. The support my own children gave me with the twins was so heart-warming so see, they loved being involved and were very much part of their lives growing up.

During my career I worked with adults with learning difficulties, and I wanted to look after children with disabilities. Since adopting our twins we have gone on to adopt one other foster child and foster two other siblings of the adopted twins. Four of my children (fostered and adopted) have learning difficulties including one young man who has been with us for 25 years through shared lives schemes. No day is ever the same and I love it.

Because of the incredible support from Essex County Council, I have been able to take on a large sibling group and know there’s always help if I need it. I’ve had sessions with the Council’s psychologist, the training is always brilliant and of a very high quality and you have access to that training anytime.

Read more about Dyan's journey here.