FLORIDA ATLANTIC UNIVERSITY®

Sibling Support

by Cathy Allore | Friday, Aug 17, 2018

Your children with special needsParenting is hard! There is no instruction manual and certainly no app for that! Having a child with special needs, only adds to an already difficult job. Parents have to make sure their children with special needs are getting their needs met with therapy, doctor appointments, and social opportunities, while also making sure the sib without special needs are getting their needs met. Although important, I am not only talking about food, shelter, and clothing, I am referring to the emotional needs of siblings and how they’re dealing with or even ignoring the fact they have a sibling with a disability.

Siblings who have a sibling with special needs often have to compete for their parents’ attention. No matter how hard we try to give them the same amount of attention as we do their sibling with special needs, they often fall short in that department. What can parents do to make sure they keep all the balls in the air, while performing this balancing act? Provide the sibling without special needs a forum or outlet to express their feelings. There are numerous resources for siblings aimed at meeting their unique emotional needs. The first of those is attending a SibShop®. Created by Don Meyer, Sibshops®  are celebrations of the many contributions made by brothers and sisters of kids with special needs. Sibshops®  are geared toward school-aged children and information can be found on the Sibling Support Project’s website  http://www.siblingsupport.org/.

As the typical sibling grows into adulthood, there are many new concerns regarding their brother or sister with special needs. Check out the book entitled,  The Sibling Survival Guide. Megan, an adult sib and my daughter, used the book’s information recently to participate and contribute to the future planning needs discussed by our family in regards to her brother, Ian.

There are numerous great books available on supporting siblings of all ages. Supporting siblings without special needs is important, to assure them they are not alone!

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