When you are a parent of a child who is disabled, has special educational needs or a serious long term illness, it can be a challenge to try and meet the needs of their siblings too. Read our quick tips for supportive and realistic ideas that will help your sibling child to thrive.
As a parent, it can be difficult to know how to support your disabled or neurodivergent child and their sibling to spend positive time together. Things we recommend are: Having a set time of day which is for playing together and making it clear when it is time for your sibling child to have … Continued
Issues around fairness arise in all families where there is more than one child. Children don’t really want to share parental time and attention with someone else. When they complain about fairness they often get an emotional response from a parent and this in itself increases the amount of attention they get. This … Continued
Siblings sometimes need a lot of reassurance that parents love them as much as their disabled brother or sister. Here are some ways you can give your child the message that you love them. Some ideas: Do something for your child that they would normally have to do for themselves Write a nice note … Continued
We all like to know others are thinking about us even when they are not with us. Siblings in particular really need to know that their parents think about them a lot. They already know you think a lot about their disabled brother or sister. What can you do to let your child know … Continued
Many parents of a child who is disabled, has special educational needs or a serious long-term condition find that their own ambitions and dreams have had to go on hold as their lives have been changed dramatically. Siblings also find that the things they really want to do are difficult, if not impossible, in … Continued
The difficulties facing families of disabled children can often mean that it is extremely difficult to have other children back to your home. You may be too tired to deal with the noise and mess of other children being around; your disabled/neurodivergent child may not tolerate the disruption that it entails; or you may … Continued
Many siblings say that others don’t know what it is like to live with a disabled or neurodivergent brother/sister. Tell your sibling child that you want understand this better. Ask them write a page or draw some pictures about being a sibling and to include these: The things they like about being a sibling … Continued
In many families there are times when it seems like a child has more faults than good qualities. Parents sometimes feel this about their sibling child when they are demanding of attention, not willing to co-operate or when they argue with their disabled or neurodiverse brother/sister. Feeling irritated and criticizing tends make you feel … Continued