Alison's story

• Fostering Stories
• Tags: Disabled foster carer , Single foster carer

Alison’s inspirational story shows us that the most important thing about being a good foster carer and achieving success, is the love and support you can offer to make a difference in a child’s life. We hope by sharing her story, we can dispel some of the myths around the question ‘who can foster’?

• "I approached Liverpool because I tried some independent fostering agencies, but got turned down straight away, just on the grounds of being disabled." Alison

In a short space of time, Alison has made remarkable progress from initially managing challenging behaviours in her foster child, to seeing a massive improvement in confidence and communication skills.  

Alison is now able to take her young person anywhere.  She's enjoyed snowboarding lessons, they go to the theatre, she plays the clarinet and leads a very busy social life. Their relationship has proved to be a perfect match.

• "A key moment for her was a performance she did in front of an audience that had been invited by from her dancing school. She stood up front of 100 people and sang a solo!" Alison

In 2019 Alison was interviewed as part of a research project led by University of Worcester as part of the Disability Research on Independent Living and Learning Initiative, entitled ‘The Potential of Disabled People as Foster Carers’.