Understanding Brothers and Sisters on the Autism Spectrum, Dan and Julie Coulter

Excerpt

The experience of children and teenagers who have one or more siblings diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) can be intense, scary, and confusing. This DVD has four segments designed for viewers aged 4–7 years, 7–12 years, 12–adults, as well as a segment designed for parents. The narrator for the parent segment is a father who has a son with Asperger’s syndrome. He spoke about the importance of viewing age appropriate segments with their “neurotypical” child(ren) and keeping communication open to answer any questions the child(ren) may have about his/her sibling(s). There were insightful parent interviews in which parents spoke openly about their views of the siblings’ relationship, children’s acceptance of brother(s)/sister(s) with ASD, Sensory Integration Dysfunction and how it impacts the family, differences in the consequences with each child, typical sibling rivalry, as well as talked about some difficult moments families faced and how they dealt with those moments. The narrator talked to parent viewers about children coping with having a sibling(s) on the spectrum, the importance of helping children understand what is going on with their sibling(s), as well as talked about taking time out to have parent time alone, couple time alone, parent and neurotypical child outings, and whole family outings. …