Parents may be most surprised to learn that guilt is a common emotion for special needs siblings. Siblings seem to naturally take on a sense of responsibility for a variety of issues related to their brother or sister’s challenges. Whether it is guilt about having less struggles and more opportunities themselves or feeling that they…
Sharing Autism Knowledge Buffers Sibling Embarrassment
Parents and siblings of a special child share common feelings, even embarrassment, when unexpected behaviors happen. The challenge for the siblings is that onlookers are often other children who may layer comments and questions on to what they have just witnessed in order to process the experience. The pressure of this spotlight can be quite…
Siblings’ Desire for Family Normalcy
The idea of family normalcy is especially prized by those with loved ones who can’t easily share in fun activities or even routine ones. Each member of the family feels a loss at some point about experiences that are just too challenging to access. For these families, capturing the essence of those desired moments in…
Siblings’ Desire for Equal Treatment
Equal treatment. These two words mean so much in a sibling’s mind to quantify a parent’s love. How do parents supply support for a child who needs more help while not diminishing the ones who do not? One way may be to think of equality needs in terms of emotional support: praising, acknowledging, listening, and…
Siblings’ Unique Peer Perspective
Siblings at every age have a valid point of view to offer about their brother or sister with special needs. As an example, a young child’s response about fairness may come from the sense that her brother or sister with special needs can learn to do more for himself or herself than is being asked….
Siblings’ Choice in the Helping Role
Frequent requests from a parent to help a sibling with autism, keep them occupied, or keep them safe can be stressful for a child and is not always developmentally appropriate. In order for all children to have the opportunity to be children in a family with a sibling with autism, outside adult support may be…
