Siblings with Special needs

Being a parent is a hard job!  Being a parent with a special needs child is a hard job! Many days you find there is only so much time in the day and your focus has to be on the fires!  What often can fall by the sidelines, to nobody’s fault(!) is the sibling of a special needs child.  Siblings of a special needs child can often take on a larger caregiver role in the household, out of pure necessity, or feel a need to be ‘better behaved’ to reduce the demand on their parents.  

There is a lot of information out there on things a parent can do to give all their children the attention they need.  A few examples include – 

1. Designating time to spend with each child 1:1.  This allows a parent to give individual attention to all their children, letting them know that they’re there for them and they’re important!
   
   
2. Give siblings an opportunity to connect with other like minded children. 
   
3. Acknowledging a sibling’s emotions.  Sibling’s may be reluctant to share their complicated or negative emotions with a parent, in an effort not to increase demands, but it’s important to let a sibling know that they can share any emotion, positive or negative!
   
   

There are many additional strategies that parents can utilize when supporting all of their children.  Within the state (of Wisconsin), there are various social opportunities for siblings called sibshops.  A sibshop is an event that allows siblings of children with special needs to connect with each other.  This allows them to connect with other children who get it!  A few locations/events that offer sibshops are as follows: 

• Circles of Life is Wisconsin
  
  
• Marshfield Children's Sibshop 
  
  
• Virtual Sibling and Family Support Program
  
  
• Good Friend Inc: Sibshop
  
  
• WisconSibs
  
  

If your child has the CLTS Waiver, we recommend connecting with your Support and Service Coordinator about any sibshops CLTS can cover the cost of, as well as utilizing possible respite resources to allow you to have time to connect with your children in a 1:1 fashion!