About Sibs

Being the sibling of a disabled child can have many positive aspects such as having companionship and fun with their brother or sister, enhanced personal growth, and learning new skills and knowledge.

However, the majority of siblings also...

grow up in a family where, regardless of the age of the sibling, the majority of family resources, parental attention, and professional services are directed, indefinitely, towards another child (i.e. the disabled child). Throughout their lives, siblings' needs often come second to that of another person.
have experiences of loss, anxiety and isolation, that mirror those of their parents, but are often not recognised by parents and professionals.
have a life-long need for information about the disabled child's condition which is poorly understood by parents; as a consequence, siblings' ignorance results in them developing inappropriate theories about their situation.
deal with challenges that other children of the same age do not have to face and rarely get help in coping with these challenges.
through their close relationship with the disabled child,they often experience prejudice, harassment, limited family activities and exclusion from mainstream activities.
are more likely than their peer group to be raised within a family that experiences poverty.
as adults, they often end up with triple responsibilities towards their own children, their older parents, and the disabled adult.

For more information see The needs of siblings

Most siblings do not get these needs met and there is a paucity of services for siblings in the UK. Sibs will play a key role in the prevention of long term mental health problems in siblings, and in enabling siblings to develop their full potential. Over the next 3 years, Sibs wants to have a positive impact on the lives of over 20,000 siblings in the UK. We want to increase the numbers of sibling services across the UK, influence national policies that affect siblings, research the needs of siblings to discover the most effective ways to support them, deliver direct information and support services to siblings, and improve public awareness of siblings in the UK.

Our mission

Sibs aims to enhance the lives of siblings by providing them with information and support, and by influencing service provision throughout the UK.

We believe that siblings have a right:

To be valued for who they are and what they do
To be seen as individuals with specific needs
To access reliable sources of advice and information, and support services
To influence the services and policies that affect them
To reach their full potential

Our vision

Sibs' long term vision is that every local authority in the UK will have a dedicated sibling service.

We will achieve this through:

Being the UK resource for information, training and research on sibling issues
Influencing the policies of government and other service providers
Increasing public awareness of siblings

Our services

Information and support for siblings
Information and support for parents on supporting siblings
Information and training for professionals on supporting siblings

Our funding

Over the next three years Sibs is being funded by the True Colours Trust and The Charles Dunstone Charitable Trust to influence local service development for siblings. Sibs needs further funding to develop its other services. See Donate if you wish to support our work.

For more information on how we use our funds you can download Sibs annual review and accounts for 2006-2007 Download Sibs accounts.

Working for Sibs

See Working for Sibs for vacancies for paid staff, trustees and volunteers.