Sibling Support
“The aims of the group are to reduce isolation for young people and to meet others who share similar experiences of brother or sister’s difficulties and how they can affect everyday family life.
I am a trained counsellor, a qualified personal life coach, and a primary teacher in my previous life, so I have lots of experience working in this area. All helpers are SIB's trained and like me, hold a current Advanced DBS.
If you want to learn more about the groups, please email me at mariebutcher@rpcf.co.uk or call my office on 01709 296262"
The most frequent feedback we hear from siblings after they come to a sibling group, workshop or session is: ‘I am not the only one who has a brother or sister like mine’.
A quote from sibs uk
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
Sibling support grew out of the voices of parents in Rotherham, who were concerned about their other children in the family. They were aware of their own time restraints looking after their sibling and worried about the impact sibling’s behavior may be having on their other children. This has now become known as ‘the glass child’.
Also as a parent with a child with complex needs, including Autism, ADHD and (non-diagnosed PDA profile), I became aware of the challenges my eldest child was having. It highlighted itself after an incident on a school residential, when I recognised that my eldest child had taken on the role of a young carer under my nose, and I didn’t even realise it.
As time progressed I recognised the negative mental health impact it was having upon my eldest child and knew that we weren’t alone.
WHAT ISSUES DO SIBLINGS FACE?
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
- Lack of understanding about their
brother/sisters condition - Worrying about their sibling
- Mixture of emotions; pride, sadness,
anger, love, embarrassment,
jealousy and guilt - Disturbed sleep
- Isolation as other friends don't have
similar issues - Fear of siblings' violent behaviour
- Click for further information on
feelings - Click for additional information for parents
WHAT SIBLING SUPPORT OFFERS?
WHY DO WE RUN SIBLING GROUPS?
WHAT SIBLING SUPPORT OFFERS?
- Fun
- Relieve isolation
- Acknowledge feelings
- Model coping strategies
- Enhance knowledge
See the 3 links below for more information:
SUPPORT FOR PARENTS
WHAT SIBLING SUPPORT OFFERS?
We know that parents of disabled children already have a lot to do and that extra time is hard to find. We also get a lot of feedback from parents telling us that following our top tips really make a difference to siblings' wellbeing and to the sibling-parent relationship.
Follow the link below to see Sibs
UK top tips for parents. You will find more details of each tip on their other pages.
SIBLING SUPPORT IN SCHOOL
We have been delivering sibling support in schools, primary, secondary and special schools since 2016.
It is estimated that two children in every classroom are growing up with a brother or sister with a disability or SEND. Many of these children are not identified or have their needs overlooked, which can lead to problems with wellbeing and progress at school.
Siblings are often unrecognised young carers as they take on the role of parents, they may sleep in the same room as their sibling, so they can alert the parent to alarms, care for their sibling in situations where the parent is not there, i.e. school trips.
Being a sibling creates lots of barriers to learning including: being late, poor concentration, missing lessons, lack of understanding from staff.
Completing homework may be very challenging due to circumstances at home, sibling behaviour problems, lack of quiet space, frequent meltdowns which affect the whole family- which can last for hours!
“The positives acquired by siblings such as tolerance, patience, kindness are rarely acknowledged or recognised by schools”*
Siblings are a vulnerable group to isolation and bullying.
* Cited