Hellooo everyone! Thank you for taking the time to read this. My name is Emily, and I currently live in Brighton, around 125 miles from Suffolk, where my mum, dad, and sister, Kate, still live. I usually see my parents about once every three months and my sister about twice a year. Honestly, one of … 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
My brother Lionel, died in January 2020 of acute myeloid leukaemia. Lionel was 70 when he died; for 68 out of his 70 years he had been supported tirelessly by my mother, who died in 2017 aged 94. My sister Liz and I only had to take full responsibility for Lionel’s wellbeing for the brief … Continued
‘Glass child’ Apparently I am a glass child, We don’t have any problems and don’t make a fuss. We’re doing fine so don’t worry about us. Yet in truth every day I felt guilty as my life rolled on. With my school, my friends, my hobbies…while for you there were none. I sensed … Continued
Pam: “I believe that visual art, along with other art forms, can convey difficult to articulate feelings and emotions. What follows are images of my original artwork. Many of the artworks were intentionally created to visually convey some of the known issues faced by siblings of people with disabilities, for example: ‘the glass child’ idea, … Continued
I am a twenty-year-old who has a disabled sister who is now twenty-one. They received an autism diagnosis at birth. Growing up with my disabled sister certainly had ups and downs. On reflection, a feeling of volatility stands out: you would never really know how a day would go. Many days were happy such as … Continued
I’ve been a sibling carer for my non-verbal autistic and epileptic twin brother my entire life. Yet, I only labelled myself a ‘carer’ at the age of 23, just two years ago. I found out I was a carer in the midst of the pandemic, a time where like many, I was riddled with fear … Continued