I am 20 years old and my sister is 2.5 years younger than me, but the developmental age gap is much higher. This is harder to put a number on! She is neurodivergent with a spiky profile, so her developmental age varies on the day and by the task. She also has some minor health … Continued
I am 19 and my brother is three years younger than me and is autistic. Although we have always been very close and probably spend more time together than ‘normal’ siblings, it’s hard to think of concrete ‘things’ that we do together. Conversations and texts A lot of our time together is spent with … Continued
Hi everyone, I’m Cassie. I don’t remember a time before my only sibling was diagnosed with what would now be described as level 3 autism and a severe learning disability. Although I have many wonderful memories of growing up with my sister, there were also aspects of our home life that were intensely challenging and … Continued
I’ve recently made some new friends. I want to explain about my brother and how he is severely Autistic and non-verbal. People often hear the Autistic part and don’t really pay attention to the non-verbal part. This can be difficult as it means people make an assumption about what my brother is like. They might assume … Continued
The thing about being a sibling to someone with a lifelong disability is that it is very difficult to know how you feel about it. The depth of emotions are never linear and only as an adult have I realised the significance of what this has meant, how it has shaped me, and how it … Continued
Sibling Truths Important: This is a personal account that may/may not be reflective of other people’s experiences. There are many times when having a sibling with a disability is hard; life-changingly, cripplingly hard. I feel we don’t speak about this enough. Social media is full of posts of parents celebrating their children’s disabilities, sharing moments … Continued
Hear more about the experiences of siblings in the video below, which was created in 2021 to celebrate Sibs 20th anniversary
From the ages of 1-6 years old, me & my twin brother were very close. Our sibling relationship began to decline rapidly when he started experiencing autistic meltdowns and this impacted our relationship heavily. At the time, I was still young and unable to understand what autism was, with adults around me too weary to … Continued
Olly and I were born twenty years ago. We are identical in every way until he was diagnosed with autism, learning difficulties, and ADHD. This has led to us having different life plans from the start: I am destined to care for Olly all my life, while Olly is destined to be cared for. Olly … Continued
Ewen is my big brother and he has consumed my life from the moment I entered this complex world. I never recall questioning why Ewen didn’t talk, nor why we couldn’t attend the family meet-up or neighbour’s birthday party. My pride for my brother has always been in great abundance, not leaving any space for … Continued