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Lisa, I don't know of any support group for caregivers your age either, but there are many children of PD patients here on the list. I'm much older than you, but I can try to pull from my memory archives to remember how I felt when I was your age. My Dad was diagnosed with PD when I was in 6th or 7th grade. I am now 37 years old. I suppose I may have been through some of what you are now experiencing. Lately there have been some discussions about how much PD-ers should tell their children. Perhaps you could share your feelings about how much your dad discusses PD with you. My dad was never one to share his feelings easily, however, since I grew up with his PD (and we were told about it when he was diagnosed) I have always had an easier time accepting the subsequent stages than my older siblings. I am the youngest of 6 kids - and I have been the one that stayed the closest to home, and therefore to the PD situation. Who is to know where life takes us - but I do believe I would have felt more freedom to move away if it weren't for Dad's PD. Maybe I am more of a homebody by nature, but I do remember choosing University of Illinois over Georgetown so that I could get home more quickly in an emergency. Hope to hear from you here - or please feel free to write directly! [log in to unmask] Sara Byron ---------- >Hi. My name is Lisa Rosen. I'm seventeen years old. My father is 42 >years old and has had Parkinson's Disease for 7 or 8 years. I find myself >in a unique situation because while there are support groups for spouses >and Parkinsonians there aren't any (that I know of) for teenaged/youngish >children. I really need people to talk to who are experiencing the same >types of problems as I am. > > >I don't know anything really about this group so I guess I'm just going to >read along for a while. > >BTW, my dad still works. The disease has been progressingfor the past >half year to year quite rapidly. Things like slowed speech, lost concept >of time, blackouts (occasional) and the usual stiffness and tremor. > >So that's me!:) > >Lisa Rosen ([log in to unmask]) >