Siblings Australia, Adelaide, SA

People with disability, their families and carers have access to a range of well-coordinated and effective services and supports that are appropriate for their needs.
Most siblings who have a brother or sister with disability are able to say there were good and not so good parts to their experience. Nonetheless, many do experience stresses. As a parent you cannot entirely remove these challenges, but you can help your child better manage them. Often the first step is ensuring siblings feel listened to and understood. With support, siblings can make a great life for themselves and build a strong relationship with their brother or sister.
Siblings can sometimes feel different and marginalised from those around them. These feelings can stem from:

Feeling different to their friends
Difficulties with having friends over
Friends not understanding what they are going through
Missing out on opportunities to take part in community activities
Other people’s insensitivity and how they react to the child with disability and/or the sibling e.g. staring, teasing and bullying
Social isolation can make it more difficult for siblings to seek help.
As siblings become older the sense of responsibility can grow. They might start to worry about the future and what their role might be in supporting a brother or sister.

What will happen when parents are no longer able to provide care? What role should the sibling play? Will they be able to find a partner in life who will take on the responsibility of someone with disability? What about having children themselves? If they do have their own family, how can a sibling balance that responsibility alongside that for their brother or sister with disability?

You can find out more on the adult sibling’s ‘Planning for the Future’ page .

• Adelaide

• English