The Tired of Spinning Plates project is a two year project exploring the mental health experiences of family carers of adults with learning disabilities. The project has been funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (Project identifier NIHR1365080), specifically their Health and Social Care Delivery Research Programme. The overall aim of the project is to better understand the mental health experiences of this particular group of family carers of adults with learning disabilities as we don’t actually know a lot about what the mental health of this group of carers looks like. This is despite the fact that pre-pandemic they made up nearly a quarter of the 9 million family carers in the UK. We’re using what we find out to co produce information for family carers and for people with learning disabilities as well as teaching and learning materials for the professionals who are involved in the lives of this group of family carers.

The project is led by two university researchers, Katherine Runswick-Cole from the University of Sheffield and Sara Ryan from Manchester Metropolitan University. The project is supported by a wider research team of university researchers, Sibs Charity UK (a charity supporting brothers and sisters of disabled children and adults), and RosaSenCis film production company. More information about the team can be found on the project website:https://sites.google.com/sheffield.ac.uk/tiredofspinningplates/people

The project has been co designed right from the start and co produced all the way through with family carers of adults with learning disabilities and self advocates with learning disabilities.

As part of the project, family carers have made short films about their experiences of caring and mental health, services and support. A team of researchers and film makers from the UK and Canada were involved in producing these films. The films offer important insights and learning opportunities about the lives of family carers who care for an adult with learning disabilities and focus upon what really matters to them. The films have been organised into films made by parent carers of adults with learning disabilities and films made by sibling carers of adults with learning disabilities and people with learning disabilities.

Please download our guide for GP RESOURCE Tired of Spinning Plates