Author: Alice Hawley

Supporting Siblings of Young People with a Learning Disability or Autism

Information for Parents and Carers

Sibling Needs
As a parent or carer, looking after your children can be challenging at times and can require a large amount of energy and time. If your child has any additional needs, this can be understandably hard and it can be difficult to juggle the many demands of home life and meet the needs of yourself and all the family, including your other children. This is nobody’s fault.
Whilst young people on the Autism Spectrum or with a Learning Disability have many skills and strengths, there will also be things they find hard. This might include their behaviours being challenging at times or them needing extra care compared to their siblings. For siblings, they may find a number of things hard and these things can have an overall impact on their wellbeing. Some of these things you may have noticed.

What can be hard:
If their brother or sister has unwanted behaviours such as aggression
Having more than one sibling with complex needs
Not understanding why certain rules are different for them
Not understanding their sibling’s needs
Being asked to take on more caring roles than may be expected for their age
Missing out on time with parents
Missing opportunities to spend time with friends or do things they enjoy
Disrupted sleep
Feeling guilty for feeling this way or not wanting to burden parents by sharing their feelings

What can help:
Every child is different but some of the things we have learnt that can be helpful for siblings are:
Helping siblings to recognise that its okay to feel the way they feel
Siblings feeling heard and knowing that their needs and feelings are acknowledged and noticed
Having space to talk with other siblings or a professional outside of the home if appropriate
Learning more about Autism or Learning Disability to help them understand their sibling’s needs
Having choice and control over what support they offer to their sibling
Having the chance for dedicated time with parents/carers where possible
Finding shared interests with their sibling
Allow them to help with care (however, avoid overburdening them

Extra sources of support:
A webinar to watch with more information can be found on our website at:
https://www.camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk/helpful-videos-siblings
Sibs Charity for supporting siblings:
https://www.sibs.org.uk/
Research Autism Guide (for teen siblings):
https://researchautism.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/OAR_TeenSiblingsResource-1.pdf
Derbyshire Local Offer (what is available in your local area):
https://localoffer.derbyshire.gov.uk/#!/search/list
National Autistic Society Website:
https://www.autism.org.uk/home
The Sleep Charity
https://thesleepcharity.org.uk/
https://teensleephub.org.uk/ (for teens)
For mental health support:
Young Minds:
www.youngminds.org.uk
Build Sound Minds
https://services.actionforchildren.org.uk/derbyshire/build-sound-minds/
Additional information can be found on our website at:
www.camhsnorthderbyshire.nhs.uk

Produced by Chesterfield Royal Hospital, August 2021