Special Brothers and Sisters: Stories and Tips for Siblings of Children with a Disability or Serious Illness

by Monica McCaffrey (Editor), Annette Hames (Editor)

Overview

Special Brothers and Sisters is a collection of real-life accounts from the brothers and sisters of children with special needs, disability or serious illness, ranging in age from 3 to 18 years. They explain, in their own words, what it's like to live with their siblings.

There is a lot of advice available for parents of a child with a disability or illness, but very little about the important issue of educating their siblings about how they feel, and why they may behave differently from other children.

These stories - from 40 different families - come with related tips to help siblings deal with some of the things that happen in their family lives. The book also provides a helpful glossary to explain, in child-friendly language, the disabilities and medical conditions mentioned, including:

* ADHD

* autism

* cerebral palsy

* cystic fibrosis

* Down syndrome

Special Brothers and Sisters is an engaging and educational collection that will enable young people and adults to share in the extraordinary experience of being a sibling of a child with special needs, a disability or serious illness.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781846421457
Publisher:	Kingsley, Jessica Publishers
Publication date:	08/15/2005
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	96
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Annette Hames is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist who has worked with children with learning disabilities for over 20 years. She currently works with families with children with learning disabilities for Northgate and Prudhoe NHS Trust, in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. Monica McCaffrey is the director of Sibs, the UK organisation for siblings. One of her brothers has learning difficulties and another brother died in childhood from a life-limiting condition. Monica lives in Yorkshire.

Table of Contents

1. A note the brothers and sisters. 2. A note to parents. 3. Stories and tips. 4. Where you can get help. 5. Dictionary.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 2-4-A helpful guidebook with 40 short sections beginning with a comment ("Sometimes she pulls my hair" or "People stare"), followed by the editors' commentary on understanding the situation and dealing with it. This is a quick, easy-to-read, compassionate approach, and it emphasizes the love between siblings regardless of differences in abilities and perceptions. Unfortunately, for American readers, the approach is British in language ("she gets quite stroppy because she cannot hear us") and in the resources/organizations listed at the end, all in the UK, New Zealand, or Australia. Readers in the U.S. may do better with Kate Strohm's Being the Other One (Shambhala, 2005) or Donald Meyer's Views from Our Shoes (Woodbine, 1997).-Linda Beck, Indian Valley Public Library, Telford, PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This book tells the siblings' stories, highlighting not only the problems they encounter, but also the good times they have with their siblings... the aim of the book is to help siblings feel less alone. To know that there are others out there who experience embarrassment, jealousy, worries, fear, anger, guilt, helplessness, frustration, sadness etc can come as a tremendous relief. The children and young people who tell their stories have been very honest about their feelings and experiences but what comes clear from this book is that many wouldn't want to change their sibling with a disability. They love them as they are.

Communication

This book is a collection of 40 real-life accounts from the brothers and sisters of children with special needs, disabilities or serious illness. Aged between 3 and 18, they explain what it is like to live with them, expressing their feelings of love, frustration, joy and sadness and talking about their experiences honestly. Each story is accompanied by many relevant tips and advice to help siblings cope with their feelings and with common issues including jealousy, embarrassment, being stared at, long hospital visits, guilt, fear, helplessness and worry.

Home Education Advisory Service

A powerful collection of personal accounts of joy, love and frustration as well as acceptance and optimism. The editors have combined the words of the children with clear and practical advice and excellent and easy to understand explanations of different illnesses, disabilities and medical phrases.

Writing in Education

It can be hard being the brother or sister of a child with a serious illness and disability, especially if your feelings get overlooked. This publication is a collection of stories from young people aged four to 18 highlighting their fears and concerns as well as their own jealously and anger. Each story comes with tips to help young people think through issues. There are also explanations about key terms relating to disability.

Young People Now

By telling their stories, the children cover a wide range of topics and reading the book would help children to realise that they are not alone and that other children have had similar experiences and feelings. The wide age range acknowledges that even very young children can feel responsible for and protective of their siblings.

Rostrum

In this useful book, children aged from 3 to 16 describe in their own words how their lives are affected by having a sick or disabled brother or sister... The book covers a wide range of disabilities and illnesses including ADHD, leaukaemia, cystic fibrosis and cerebral palsy and the issues it covers are equally wide ranging... This book deserves a place on the bookshelves of teachers, doctors and other professionals who may come into contact with children in this situation. It is also useful for parents and for children themselves, who may like to read it alone or with a supportive adult.

WordPool Website

This is a lovely book, where young people talk about their siblings who have a disability or serious illness. The children's descriptions are very honest and cover a range of emotions (positive and negative) that their family situation raises for them. The featured stories cover a range of disabilities and illnesses, a broad spectrum of ages of siblings and varied reactions to the difficulties. The honest reflections of the young people in the book may help to raise the awareness of parents, and other adults, about the impact on siblings, as well as being helpful for the siblings themselves.

Youthinmind.co.uk

Special Brothers and Sisters is a collection of accounts from 40 families with children ranging in age from 3 to 18 speaking openly and honestly about their experiences. It has been compiled for siblings, their parents and professionals working with the family... The resource has been very well thought out... From embarrassment, staring, sleep disturbances, challenging behaviour, hospital stays, surgery, friendships and needing more attention, the book offers user-friendly ideas to work through these challenges...I think it's certainly a book to read together with your child...I would urge every parent to read it for themselves as it provides a very grounding insight into how siblings feel... eye-opening... The book also contains a comprehensive list of where to get additional support and help, including UK based sibling support organisation Sibs. There's a glossary of medical terms, a note to siblings and a separate one for parents.This is an honest, compassionate book with a positive tone. It sends out a clear message that siblings of disabled children are not alone and are not being overlooked or forgotten.

Special Needs Jungles blog - Hayley Goleinowska

This is a very positive book that could be read to a younger child or given to older children to look at in their own time. You can look for a specific problem or just read through it to find out how different children cope in different ways.

Learning Support

This book allows that to become an ongoing practice. Written in such a way that it can be used with even very young children, it gives some powerful messages, including the message to children that they are not alone. It illustrates the variety of responses a sibling can gave and offers tips on how to deal with some of the daily challenges of living with a special brother or sister. It provides useful contact details and an easy-to-understand glossary of various medical terms…It is very reasonably priced and an invaluable resource for working with families with other children.

Learning Disability Practice