At That Time, We Were Connected: Choosing Support, Final Episode

Not only my sons,
but also the families who suffered within the support system,
I have watched them from up close.

Some readers of this series may have felt, "This isn't a story about support workers, but a story about the ethics of guardians."

Night1The story of someone who became an adult without being able to choose
Night2Is "support I want to give" evil?
Night3Why can't parents wait?
Night4Why can't support workers wait?
Night5What should parents and support workers do? Choosing Support Series
Night6After school non-attendance, when sharing an understanding of characteristics, Choosing Support Series

Even so,
if we had been connected at that time.
If there had been a place to talk at that time.
If someone had noticed just a little bit earlier at that time.
There were many moments when I thought that.

I watched as support workers lost their margin.
I watched as parents became isolated.
Yet no one could stop.
Families who should have been saved were quietly falling apart.

What you can do now and what you can do forever are different.
Time passed while no one could face that fact.
Trying, falling apart, and thinking again.

What I arrived at beyond that is that both the support worker and the person being supported are important.

If we could have noticed before the balance collapsed,
that person might not have had to suffer so much.
That person might not have had to lose their smile.
That person might not have had to withdraw from society.

When the balance collapses, it's not just the person being supported who is in trouble.
Support workers and families also fall apart.

That is why, while looking toward the future,
we think about and connect through "what we can do, what we cannot do, and what makes things go well."
To cherish the person's life.

So that we can engage in support that both sides choose.
If this could be a catalyst for that.
"Choosing Support" was written with that thought in mind.

Thank you for reading.