Ms Cara Darmody:

It is really hard in my home. My two brothers are severely and profoundly intellectually disabled. That is really hard because they do not understand a single English word, especially Neil. As my dad said, Neil will be in a nappy for the rest of his life. He often self-harms by using his fist to hit his head when he gets frustrated because he simply does not understand the consequences of that. Even with food, they are very picky. It is hard to see my brothers having to struggle every single day.

I am really glad I am able to stand up for them and that determined me to start my journey in September 2021 when I had just turned 11. I saw the struggles in my home and realised I was not the only person with these struggles. Thousands of families in Ireland had the same struggles and that motivated me to keep going. My brothers cannot do exercise or any of the normal things I do, like going to school or clubs. They cannot join clubs and it is really hard on our family. My parents, especially my dad, could often go two or three days without getting any sleep because Neil and John will not go to sleep or might not go to sleep until 4 a.m. or 5 a.m. I do my best to help my parents and interact with them as much as I can. While it is tough, I definitely try to make a positive out of it. I use it as my motivation, determination and spark to help other people and try to fix this issue once and for all. My brothers made me determined to succeed and achieve great things. I would not be here without them and I love them so much.