Concerns About Siblings - Part 2

In the book "Sibshops: Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs," Meyer & Vadasy describe several concerns that may be seen with siblings of children with disabilities.  The first concern was overidentification and the second concern is embarrassment.  Meyer & Vadasy state, "A sibling with a disability or illness can be a source of embarrassment for typically developing brother and sisters.  They may get embarrassed by the unwanted attention the child, and consequently the family, receives when the child with special needs has behavior problems. 

The authors go on to say, "Developing strategies to spare typically developing child embarrassment first requires analyzing the cause of the embarrassment.  Is it something that can be changed, such as an age-inappropriate bib on a sibling who drools, or a behavior, such as singing during a sermon at church, that could be changed through a carefully considered behavior program?"  (pgs. 10-11)

Sibshops: Workshops for Siblings of Children with Special Needs.  Meyer, D. and Vadasy, P.  Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes Publishing. (2008).

Book of the Week:  

A Different Kind of Boy: A Father's Memoir on Raising a Gifted Child with Autism [electronic resource]/ Daniel Mont. Jessica Kingsley. 2002.   

Description: "A little nine-year-old boy looks down at the gymnasium floor. The room is filled with children who like and respect him, but he has no real friends. He can barely name anyone in his class, and has trouble with the simplest things - recognizing people, pretending, and knowing when people are happy or angry or sad. Much of his life has been filled with anxiety. He is out of step with the world, which to him is mostly a whirlwind that must be actively decoded and put into order. And yet he was only one of seven fourth graders in the United States to ace the National Math Olympiad. In fifth grade he finished second in a national math talent search. That boy is autistic. He is also loving, brilliant and resilient. In this book, his father writes about the joys, fears, frustration, exhilaration, and exhaustion involved in raising his son. He writes about the impact on his family, the travails of navigating the educational system, and the lessons he has learned about life, what it means to connect with other people, and how one builds a life that suits oneself. And, oh, yes, math. Lots about math."--Publisher's website.

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