Thursday, April 19, 2012
I wanted to find a place where a community had addressed the conflict dealing with siblings of disabled children. I found one that was a newspaper post and it was very interesting. I felt that it was real life. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/04/health/04sibs.html is the website. The article dicusses negative and postivie stories that people have discussed and how although some children enjoy having a disabled sibling, some feel embarrassed and like it is a chore, and is that really wrong? I'm not saying that it is right, but is it wrong for a child to feel that way? I know my "typically developing" child loves attention, it will be hard for her when we have another child, I can't imagine if the chidl were disable, how "jealous" my daughter would become. I would like to think that she would rise to the occassion and be the helper and responsible one. I feel that this is a world of its own and that they do form a tight community, and I am enjoying the insight I am starting to get inside of their community.
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Hi! The article you found demonstrates how people react to and handle things in a wide variety of ways. I feel you are right in not judging someone, a sibling in this case, for how they feel unless you know exactly what they are experiencing. All children have emotional needs and I can understand how the sibling of a child with a disability may struggle with how they feel about it. Too much responsibility placed on that child may have negative results, as we have learned from our text readings. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the adults to help these siblings develop their own identity and a positive relationship with their sibling diagnosed with a disability.
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