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siblings of children/adults with learning difficulties
Former Member
Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
hey, not sure if this really belongs in relationships but anyway...
So i am an older (adult) sibling of a younger sibling (also adult) who has learning difficulties, specifically downs syndrome.
i would be interested to hear from anyone and everyone who has a younger or older sibling (child or adult ) like me , not neccessarily downs.
what are your expereinces of having a sibling with these difficulties?
do you feel excluded by professional services who could otherwise offer you support or are you supported by them in any other way?
what i would especially like to know is - is anyone a member of any siblings groups aimed at people in my situation? i have some info on a project that is baout to be set up to accomodate this, but just wondered if any groups were already in existence.
thanks in advance, would appreciate your info.
So i am an older (adult) sibling of a younger sibling (also adult) who has learning difficulties, specifically downs syndrome.
i would be interested to hear from anyone and everyone who has a younger or older sibling (child or adult ) like me , not neccessarily downs.
what are your expereinces of having a sibling with these difficulties?
do you feel excluded by professional services who could otherwise offer you support or are you supported by them in any other way?
what i would especially like to know is - is anyone a member of any siblings groups aimed at people in my situation? i have some info on a project that is baout to be set up to accomodate this, but just wondered if any groups were already in existence.
thanks in advance, would appreciate your info.
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Comments
i dont believe that:chin:
I've been here a number of years and can't remember any of the regular posters being in the same position as you.
I'm sorry that no one can help at this stage .... but, remember, you posted this at just 12:54 today and lots of members only come online in the evening etc. I'm sure if anyone can help, you just need to give us a little bit of time.
p.s. I'm sure you do an awesome job with your sibling.
thanks for pointing that out! lol just me being a little impatient as have been working from home today.
gosh, well i would certainly be surprised if noone else was in a similar position judging from the number of users, although i guess maybe if they know people that are, rather than themselves that would also be useful.
and thank you very much.
I don't have any experience of your personal situation, but I just wanted to tell you that my dad's youngest brother (I think there's about 15 years between them, but I'm not certain, I know that it's fairly significant though) has downs and now that both of his parents are gone, he lives in a specialist home. BUT, despite that, he still lives a good life, last I heard he had a ladyfriend (although that was probably 7 or 8 years ago now), and he was really happy. Obviously it depends on how high-functioning your brother is, but there are options. I know that's not exactly what you wanted to know, but I thought I would put it out there anyway.
Ive been away from the boards for awhile but i am REALLY hoping that people who read this thread tae note of it and put down their experiences and maybe answer my above questions as it would be really useful to me. thanks
thanks so much for sharing your situation and i can totally relate to everything you say. I too have to deal with awkward situations with people where they dont understand what my brother is saying, or people stare alot. having said that i can understand why they do.
im used to it too and dont have any other siblings either so 'normal' sibling to me is normal for what my brother is though i guess none of us are really normal in one way or another. it can be really difficult at times i know and recently ive found myself up against people who presented themselves as truly understanding of my situation, and then going on to make offensive comments about children with special needs right in front of me, knowing full well what they were saying and with no apology despite the fact that i stood up to them about it.
www.sibs.org might be useful for you to look at.
i really hope people in my/ballerinas situation respond to this thread, whatever situation they are in, even if not themselves, whether it is a close friend or relative who is in our situation im sure many people would benefit from answering my questions and sharing experiences as i know i certianly would. thanks!
please.
Sorry to hear you're disappointed by the responses - it might well be that noone has experiences of the situation they describe that they feel would be helpful - or that they want to share. It could be that some people don't feel happy talking about their siblings or family friends yet or don't feel that what they have to share would be relevant or useful.
It's also worth bearing in mind that while 40000 people are registered, not all of them are active users.
I wonder if it might be worth you exploring Carers.org discussion boards. I'm not sure if you are a carer for your sibling but even if you are not, there are likely to be many more people on there who could share helpful experiences and discussion with you.
Of course, continue to post and share on here as well - just thought this might be helpful for you in this particular instance