Understanding the Siblings of Children With Disabilities.

Understanding the Siblings of Understanding the Siblings of Children With DisabilitiesChildren With Disabilities

Concerns IdentifiedConcerns Identified

• Resentment

• Embarrassment

• Isolation

• Pressure

• Burden

• Guilt

• Confusion

• Fear

• Anger

• Jealousy

Difficulties ExperiencedDifficulties Experienced

• Having their sleep disturbed and feeling tired at school.

• Finding it hard to complete homework.

• Being embarrassed about their sibling’s behavior in public.

• Being teased or bullied at school.

Questions Siblings AskQuestions Siblings Ask

• What is the cause of the disability?• Who are the people who work for us?• Does my sibling have the same feelings I do?• What will happen in the future?

About their sibling:

Questions Siblings AskQuestions Siblings Ask

• What are my parents expectations?

• How do I talk to my parents about my sibling?

• Why don’t my parents spend more time with me?

• What can I do to help/Why do I always have to help?

About their parents:

Questions Siblings AskQuestions Siblings Ask

• How do I explain my sibling to my friends?

• Why do kids always tease me?

About their friends:

About themselves:

• How should I feel about my sibling?

• Why am I different than my sibling?

Questions Siblings AskQuestions Siblings Ask

• Will I be responsible for my sibling when my parents die?

• Does the presence of a disability affect my chances for having healthy children?

About adulthood:

About the community:

• What happens in special education classes?

• Will people accept him?

Literature ReviewLiterature Review

TBI

• Feel they have become more mature, enriched, and assertive after a sibling experiences a brain injury.

• Anger, frustration, resentment, and guilt have also been reported.

• 83% of children living with a sibling that has a brain injury experienced clinically significant levels of stress.

Literature ReviewLiterature Review

• Statements about their sibling with autism indicated a decrease in negative statements and an increase in positive statements after behavior training.

Autism

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• A direct prompting strategy was shown to increase interactions between children with disabilities and their typically developing siblings.

• Siblings of children with special needs are not described as an at-risk population.

Additional Findings

How Teachers Can HelpHow Teachers Can Help

• Reach out to these siblings.

• Provide opportunities to express their feelings.

• Encourage them to develop their own interests and identity.

• Educate other staff members.

• Host programs specifically for siblings.

Chapter 7

Family Functions

Questions

Consider these two questions:

1. What are the family’s and your appropriate priorities for achieving family balance in carrying out family functions?

2. What cultural values and traditions influence these priorities?

Tasks

• Families have certain tasks to meet the needs of the family functions.

• These tasks often have cultural differences and expectations.

• Be aware of how the needs in each of eight categories are met for families.

• How does time enter into meeting family functions and what could schools do to address the time factor?

Categories of Family Functions:

1. Affection

2. Self-esteem

3. Spiritual

4. Economics

5. Daily care

6. Socialization

7. Recreation

8. Education

Steps to take to build a reliable alliance around each function

Consider:

• What can schools do to support families in the eight categories of family functions?

• How does a child with disabilities impact the family in each of the functions?

Chapter 8

Family Life Cycle

Family System a Multilayered Complexity

1. Every family is unique.2. Every family is an interactive system:

Anything that happens to one person reverberates throughout the whole family

3. Every family is engaged in a variety of functions designed to fulfill a number of needs

4. Family life cycle changes

Family Life Cycle Theory

• Seeks to explain how a family changes over time.

• Theory is that each family experiences certain predictable and stable stages.

• Transition-as the family moves from one stage to the next.

• Family has three life cycle stages (three generations)

Life Cycle Stages

• Birth/Early Childhood/Childhood

• Adolescence

• Adult

Birth and Early Childhood

• Discovering and coming to terms with exceptionality

• Participation in early childhood services

• Impact of grief over the loss of the anticipated “normal” child

Childhood

• Developing a vision for the future

• Developing a perspective on the appropriateness of inclusion

Adolescence

• Sexuality Education

• Expanding self-determination and self-advocacy skills

Adulthood

• Identifying post-secondary educational programs and supports

• Accessing supported employment and supported living options