Impact: Feature Issue on Siblings of People with Intellectual, Developmental, and Other Disabilities (Institute on Community Integration)

Description:

An issue in the Impact series that focuses on the brothers and sisters of children, teens, and adults with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities (IDD) – what we know about them, their roles and needs across the lifespan, their feelings about themselves and their siblings, and how to support them. Siblings of people with IDD are frequently involved in their brother’s or sister’s life longer than anyone else in their family. They have unique experiences, perspectives, and needs that are too important to ignore, yet they often feel overlooked by service providers, educators, family members, and others. This Impact issue includes their personal stories, profiles of organizations around the world that are giving them a place to connect with one another, strategies and resources for addressing their concerns, and research findings about them. Our hope is that in reading this issue siblings will have moments when they say, “Yes, that’s my experience too!” and know they are not alone, and that those around them will have an increased understanding of how to support the sibling role.