Young siblings often have lots of questions about their brother or sister who has a disability, illness or health condition. This might be if there is a new diagnosis or if their brother or sister has had the condition for a long time. They want to know what’s going on, how it might change things, how it might affect them or what’s going to happen in the future. Siblings also find it hard to ask these questions sometimes. They worry that it will upset their parents or they think that nobody will listen to them. Our YoungSibs website has lots of information for young siblings aged 7-17 - including information about learning disability. Check it out here. youngsibs.org.uk
Many parent carers put off telling siblings about their brother or sister’s learning disability. They often worry that telling a sibling will be too upsetting or may feel that children don’t need to know until they’re older. However, just like parents, siblings need to know what is happening to help them cope better. Good information helps siblings to:
•Improve their understanding
•Helps sibling relationships
•Maintains trust
We have lots more information on our website on how to talk to children about disability. sibs.org.uk/supporting-youn...
We would love to hear about how you talked to your sibling child about disability. Have you come across any really good books that helped your child to understand better? We really like the book "Me and My Sister" by sibling author Rose Robbins - a picture book aimed at younger children. You can catch Rose reading from her book here as part of our National Siblings Day celebrations.
Clare
Sibs
GP learning disabilities register
Making a will for learning disabled daughter
Measuring learning disability.
