Having a disability can complicate our lives in many different ways – as can caring responsibilities. Whether it’s parenting/looking after a child, or caring for an adult who is elderly, disabled or has additional medical needs, these responsibilities look different when also managing your own disability.

Join us for this panel event, where we will hear from King’s staff who have both disabilities and caring responsibilities. Our panellists will talk about what that intersection looks like for them, and how caring and disability affect one another.

About the speakers

We’re delighted to welcome four panellists from around King’s, each of whom brings a unique perspective:

• Emma Briggs is a proud mum of two children (aged 7 and 18yrs) and has a visual impairment. She was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease 10 years ago (a degenerative macular disease that leads to central vision loss), is a Senior Lecturer in the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery & Palliative Care and a volunteer for Guide Dogs UK. 
• John Darker is the School Technical Manager for the School of Cancer & Pharmaceutical Sciences within the Faculty of Life Sciences & Medicine. John is also one of Access King’s Co-Chairs, where he leads on the Network’s strategy. John has his own sight loss disability and he also has a son, aged 20 years, who has Down's Syndrome. John is therefore well positioned to convey both the family challenges and the supportive opportunities that this intersectional relationship can bring. 
• Erin Letbe-Holder has recently joined Kings, in the Health Service & Population Research Department. She has ADHD (diagnosed as an adult six years ago) and a 4 year old, as well as step-children aged 17 and 20 (the younger of whom lives at home, and the older with their other parents). She is also a carer for family members with fluctuating mental health. 
• Renée Reitsma-Jurman is a Collections Liaison Librarian at King’s College Libraries & Collections. She and her wife are carers for their housemate and friend Adam who has severe epilepsy, neurofibromatosis and narcolepsy. Renée herself has multiple sclerosis (MS) and persistent depressive disorder. Her experience in being a carer and being cared for have made her passionate about mutual aid and community care.

Schedule

10.00 – 11.00:  One-hour panel discussion. This will be hybrid, with remote attendees able to watch and listen via Teams. If possible, we will read out questions from the Teams chat.

11.00 – 12.00:  Social/networking session.

Registration

All staff are welcome – you might have a disability, be a parent or carer, both, or neither. Whether you’d like to hear from others with similar experiences, are looking forward in your own life journey, or are a manager, colleague or friend seeking to understand and support those around you, we welcome you to come along.

Please register online to attend in person or to be added directly to the calendar invitation if you are attending online. Registration for in-person attendees will help us ensure we have enough refreshments.

Refreshments

We invite you to stay after the panel discussion to meet other attendees over a cup of tea/coffee and a biscuit.

Accessibility

• We aim to make this event accessible to all staff members. Please contact nest@kcl.ac.uk to discuss any access needs you may have.
• This will be a mask-friendly environment. Please respect the choices of others.
• Please see the Access Able guides for the Franklin Wilkins Building and room 1.70 for general accessibility information.