Being the sibling of someone with a disability is a story that’s hard to tell, not because it’s difficult to remember or describe, but because, for me, it’s just life. My sister is three years younger than me, and from the very beginning, her journey has been completely her own. She was born with a … Continued
Hear more about the experiences of siblings in the video below, which was created in 2021 to celebrate Sibs 20th anniversary
“Tired of Spinning Plates” is a project to understand and improve the mental health experiences of carers of adults with learning disabilities. Sibs is a partner of this project. Four sibling carers made short films about their experiences, which you can watch below. Click here to find out more about the Tired of Spinning Plates Project. … Continued
I am the middle child. Three words to sum up my life as a sibling would be responsibility, patience and loneliness. My younger brother, Richard, has Downs’ Syndrome and now early onset dementia and my older brother, David, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his late teens. I was the reliable one; the responsible one; the … Continued
Whenever I’ve been asked to describe my life being the younger sibling to someone with a disability, I always use the same analogy: It’s like walking into a film that’s halfway through. The reason I use this analogy is because I have only been around following my sister’s illness. My images of life before I … Continued
Sam Carlisle (2025) ‘A STAKE IN THE HEART’ I felt I’d failed my brother, 17, on day he died & couldn’t say his name as I hid the pain, says Traitors star Alexander’ Kelle Salle (2024) ‘I was just 7 years old when I saw my brother laughed at for his disability’ Emma Dooney (2023) … Continued
The Special Needs Sibling Podcast (2023 – current) “A space where we talk about what life is REALLY like as a sibling to someone with a mental and/or physical disability.” Listen on your favourite platform “The series as a whole is presented by someone who is an adult sib herself – Charlene, who is in … Continued
An Irish Goodbye (2022) “On a farm in rural Northern Ireland, estranged brothers Turlough (Seamus O’Hara) and Lorcan (James Martin) are forced to reunite following the untimely death of their mother (Michelle Fairley). But when the pair discover an unfulfilled bucket list belonging to their late mum, their pained reunion takes an altogether different course.” … Continued
I met my partner Isobel at work almost ten years ago. Neither of us were open about our sexualities at this point. We were good friends for around a year before getting together. I told Isobel about my sibling situation very early on as having a partner who accepted my family and all that it … Continued