The Special Needs Sibling Podcast

16. I Am More Than Just "A Good Sister"

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Being the "perfect child" is no easy task, but it shouldn't be a task at all!  It's so easy for special needs siblings to end up in the category of "a good child" to compensate for our sibling or just to take the burden off of our parents.  But we are so much more than that.  We have our own identity and that is enough.  Take a listen to this conversation with Emma and hear her story on episode 16.


In this episode we talk about:

  • About Emma’s family and brother with Autism and intellectual disabilities
  • How Emma’s brother communicates and how they spend time together
  • Growth vs limitations of our siblings
  • Feeling like a 3rd parent subconsciously 
  • Going to therapy and learning more about ourselves as individuals and how being a sibling colors that
  • The internal pressure/obligation as a sibling and “being a good sister”
  • Being with our siblings by ourselves vs our parents, care giving staff, logistics, etc
  • Taking the time now to make the most of our “free-er” time 
  • The sibling to sibling and parent to child relationships are separate and important
  • Plug for The Sibling Leadership Network 
  • We’re not the biggest fans of family gatherings
  • Emma exercising her boundaries while still caring when it comes to her brother
  • Suppressing our feelings while growing up
  • Needing to feel like we need to help when it really wasn’t necessary
  • Going to therapy!  And normalizing feelings
  • Resources for the next generation of younger siblings
  • Emma’s encouragement to fellow siblings


    • Links:

    • Sibling Leadership Network (SLN) https://siblingleadership.org/
    • Find out if there’s a state chapter where you live https://siblingleadership.org/about-the-sibling-leadership-network/state-chapters/


      • More Info:

      • Check out the blog and contact Charlene here: https://thespecialneedssiblingpodcast.com/
      • Get episode updates directly to your inbox: https://www.thespecialneedssiblingpodcast.com/newsletter
      • Support the podcast on Ko-fi: https://ko-fi.com/thespecialneedssiblingpodcast


        • Music by:

        • AlexGrohl from Pixabay
        • QubeSounds from Pixabay
          • ...more
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          The Special Needs Sibling PodcastBy The Special Needs Sibling Podcast