Last week, I interviewed Don Myer, a very wise and compassionate man. He is passionate about supporting a group often overlooked in the world of disabilities: siblings of kids with special needs.

Siblings Need Support, Too

Don has worked with families dealing with disabilities for almost three decades. Support and resources for kids and adults with special needs has increased greatly during his years in the field. So has support for parents. But support for siblings, those who grow up with a brother or sister with special needs and may well be charged with their care as adults after their parents pass on, is virtually nonexistent. With one exception

Don Myer and SibShops

According to their website, siblingsupport.org, “the Sibling Support Project is the only national effort dedicated to the interests of over six million brothers and sisters of people with special health, mental health, and developmental needs.”

Though they are the only organization devoted to support of siblings, they train other groups to lead SibShops, support groups for siblings. In fact, they have trained groups all over the United States and in several foreign countries. Again, here’s a quote from their website:

Based in Seattle since 1990, we have trained service providers in all 50 states, England, Ireland, New Zealand, and Japan on how to implement out award-winning Sibshops program for young brothers and sisters, resulting in over 200 replications in eight countries. We have also presented to over 400 audiences of parents and service providers in every state. We have published curricula and children’s books that assist agencies in starting Sibshops and let young sibs know that they are not alone with their unique joys and concerns. We sponsor the Internet’s first and largest listservs for young and adult siblings where participants share their issues with others who truly understand. Finally, we’ve provided leadership for similar sibling efforts in Japan, England, Ireland, Belgium, Croatia, Iceland, New Zealand, Australia, Greece, and Guatemala.

Resources Galore

SiblingSupport.org offers a wide variety of resources:

• Information about how organizations can sponsor SibShops training and begin a group in their community.
• ListServes for SibShops volunteers, adult siblings of people with special needs, and child siblings of kids with special needs.
• An extensive list of books for siblings of those with special needs.
• A wide variety of other books and publications about special needs.
• A SibShops group locator.

What Do You Know about SibShops?

If someone in your family has been involved in SibShops, as a volunteer or a sibling, please leave a comment. Do you recommend it? Have advice for organizations starting groups? Suggestions? The more information the better, so comment away!

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