Abstract
Although siblings play a large role in the lives of their brothers and sisters with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), their needs for information, support and involvement have often been overlooked in the clinical setting. The purpose of this chapter is to describe the experiences of siblings, the impact of these experiences, and how siblings can be included and supported by clinicians. Siblings of children with IDD may overall be at a slightly increased risk for psychological, social and educational attainment problems, with those whose brothers and sisters have higher levels of behavioural problems being at most risk. Whilst there are many positive aspects to growing up with a brother or sister with IDD, there are also specific challenges for siblings in both childhood and adulthood. Young siblings may get less attention from parents, have difficulty understanding IDD and undertake caregiving alongside their parents, whilst adult siblings worry about the genetic implications of IDD and how to manage multiple caregiving responsibilities. Both young and adult siblings can experience isolation and social exclusion. Clinicians can help reduce the impact of these challenges through supporting siblings directly during face to face meetings or indirectly through discussions with their parents. The chapter includes a set of practical recommendations for supporting young and adult siblings.
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McCaffrey, M. (2016). Siblings of Children and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disability. In: Rubin, I.L., Merrick, J., Greydanus, D.E., Patel, D.R. (eds) Health Care for People with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18096-0_5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-18096-0_5
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