The thing about being a sibling to someone with a lifelong disability is that it is very difficult to know how you feel about it. The depth of emotions are never linear and only as an adult have I realised the significance of what this has meant, how it has shaped me, and how it … Continued
It is difficult to talk about the realities of being a sibling without feeling I am doing my parents an injustice for the incredible job they did raising us. Ultimately, however, no amount of love can ease the pain of experiencing just how cruel the world has the potential to be that young. … 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
I am the middle child. Three words to sum up my life as a sibling would be responsibility, patience and loneliness. My younger brother, Richard, has Downs’ Syndrome and now early onset dementia and my older brother, David, was diagnosed with schizophrenia in his late teens. I was the reliable one; the responsible one; the … Continued
Zach’s twin brother Reuben, is autistic and non-verbal. Reuben started to use an Augmentative Communication Device (ACD) but struggled to bond with the standardised voice that came with it. Zach offered his own voice, to make the device more personal. “I volunteered to do it because I think it’s very special for Ruben and very … Continued
‘My sister, Katy’, the three most common words which come out of my mouth everyday. Like any little sister, I absolutely idolised my big sister growing up. I always knew that she was different but I didn’t fully grasp that being ‘different’ wasn’t really accepted by society. I always saw my sister as the most … Continued
I’m the only family member for my brother aged 52 with Asperger’s and my mother, aged 88, who has dementia. So, if I can’t see anything about my relationship with my brother as a positive, how do I, as a great believer in the life-changing effects of focusing on positives, find a positive in having … Continued
“The siblings of special needs children are quite special. Absolutely accepting and totally loving, from birth. Someone who is different mentally, and has a different way of seeing the world, is a wonderful trait. It’s a trait I wish there was another way of getting, but there isn’t. And it does involve a degree of … Continued
My earliest memory of my brother is scooting up and down the children’s ward in a toy car at St James’ hospital in Leeds. Although I was almost 3 when he was born, I think I knew even then that he was poorly and somehow ‘different’ to other people’s siblings. Growing up with my brother … Continued