Group intervention for siblings of children with disabilities: a pilot study in a clinical setting

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of a group intervention in a clinical setting designed to increase knowledge of disability and improve sibling relationship among siblings of children with disabilities. Method: A self-selected sample of 54 younger and older siblings with typical development (ages 8-12 years) of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (9), Asperger syndrome (7), autistic disorder (13), physical disability (8) and intellectual disability (17) participated in collateral sibling groups. The Sibling Knowledge Interview (SKI) and Sibling Relationship Questionnaire (SRQ) were administered pre- and post-intervention. Results: SKI scores increased (p < 0.001) from pre- to post-intervention when merged diagnostic groups were compared. Comparisons of SRQ pre- and post-intervention scores across diagnostic sibling groups showed significantly different (p < 0.05) score patterns. Conclusions: The results were encouraging and contribute to further development of interventions meeting the needs of siblings of children with disabilities. In view of the limited empirical research on group interventions for siblings of children with disabilities future work is needed to investigate the effectiveness of such interventions. Particular attention should be given to siblings of children with autism and siblings of children with intellectual disability. Implications for Rehabilitation Childhood disability can have a significant impact on siblings, whose access to own support offered by health care professionals may be limited or non-existing. A group intervention designed to improve knowledge of disability and sibling relationship in self-selected siblings of children with disabilities showed encouraging results. The special situation of siblings of children with autism and intellectual disability should be given particular attention

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