INTRODUCTION
The shared stories of siblings raise a multitude of issues for families and health practitioners. In the next section I describe a range of strategies for adult siblings, parents, and service providers that may help to counter any negative impact that growing up with a disabled child in the family can have on siblings.
Adult siblings will discover ways to accept the role their sibling has played in making them who they are. Parents and service providers who are involved with families with young siblings will discover ideas for providing support and preventing problems from arising.
Chapter 9 explores how adult siblings can gain understanding, discover needs, learn to express feelings and gain support, both from within and from outside the family. The process involves making sense of the past and looking more confidently toward the future. Through exploring the difficult parts of your story, it might be possible to highlight some of the good things gained through your experiences.
Younger siblings are especially reliant on parents and service providers. Chapter 10 offers strategies for parents to build stronger families, and chapter 11 includes specific strategies for supporting young siblings. Through focusing on building stronger families, we can ensure that siblings develop into stronger children and adults. A strong family can help a child adjust more positively to his or her situation.
Service providers are also able to help siblings through direct intervention and by assisting parents to learn ways to support all their children. Chapter 12 offers strategies for practitioners and advises parents how effective practitioners can help the family.