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ORIGINAL ARTICLE: ‘I’m going to be here long after you’ve gone’ – sibling perspectives of the future
Author(s) -
Rawson Hollie
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
british journal of learning disabilities
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.633
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1468-3156
pISSN - 1354-4187
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-3156.2009.00599.x
Subject(s) - brother , sister , sibling , psychology , developmental psychology , sibling relationship , learning disability , gerontology , medicine , political science , law
Accessible summary• Adult brothers and sisters of people with learning disabilities often do not have enough support. • For this research, adult brothers and sisters were interviewed to find out what worries they have for the future and what support they would like. • Many were concerned about being responsible for their brother or sister in the future. • This report discusses ways in which organisations can better support adult brothers and sisters.Summary In recent years there has been a shift to recognise the needs of siblings and a growth in sibling support largely for under 16s. However, siblings will often require support into adulthood as they undertake additional responsibilities from parents in the care or advocacy of their brother or sister. Therefore this project aimed to investigate what concerns young adult siblings have for the future and what support they feel they need to develop and improve support for this sibling age group. The findings from interviews with young adult siblings of young people attending a 52 week residential school for people with complex needs highlighted many concerns for the future, particularly around the transition into adult services and holding a paucity of knowledge. It appears that many siblings are struggling with achieving the balance between being responsible, yet just being a brother or sister. This dichotomy is discussed in more detail along with strategies adopted at the residential setting to improve support.