Facts About Living with Siblings with Disabilities

Siblings with disabilities create a unique family bond that is sometimes missing from other families. Taking care of siblings with disabilities is a lifelong commitment that teaches, through experience, the value of responsibility, thinking outside the box and love. The road is not easy for any family members, and siblings can sometimes feel left out and lonely. Nonetheless, siblings experience personal growth that takes some people a lifetime to attain.

Positive Benefits

• Understanding disabilities makes coping easier

  Siblings with a disabled brother or sister appear to experience more positive sibling interaction and less negative interaction than individuals with non-disabled siblings, according to the National Information Center for Children and Youth with Disabilities. The positive benefits include a higher degree of responsibility, greater understanding, more empathy, maturity, and patience, and a sense of pride and unselfishness for their sibling's accomplishments.

Siblings' Fears

• Siblings of children with disabilities often feel the pressure to be the "super kid." For example, those with autistic siblings tend to worry about how they are going to care for and protect a brother or sister when they get older, according to Sue Loring, Director of the Autism Resource Center. Siblings also worry about how their disabled brother or sister will act around their friends and out in public.

Negative Feelings

• Siblings share a unique bond

  Younger siblings may experience loneliness and frustration with their disabled brother or sister who is not always easy for them to play with and talk with. While the feelings of jealousy, embarrassment, anxiety and frustration are normal feelings for all ages of siblings with a disabled brother or sister, understanding their brother or sister makes coping easier. Nonetheless, taking on the role of caretaker and accepting larger responsibilities can promote anxiety and stress. Addressing these feelings through support groups and forums is the goal of Answers4Families, as well as many other organizations.

Impacts on Future

• Siblings of individuals who have a disability may use their experience to attain a career in the disability field. These professionals view their career as an opportunity to use their positive and negative experiences to better the world.