Special Siblings: Growing Up With Someone With A Disability

In this absorbing and candid book, Mary McHugh reveals what she experienced as the sister of a man with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability, and shares what others have learned about being and having a “special sibling.” Weaving a lifetime of memories and reflections with relevant research and interviews with more than 100 other siblings and experts, McHugh explores a spectrum of feelings, from anger and guilt to love and pride, and helps readers understand the issues siblings may encounter in childhood, such as dealing with their own needs for attention and information, identifying with their parents’ grief, understanding their sibling’s disability, and coping with their own feelings adolescence, such as participating in family discussions, fitting in with peers, searching for their own identity, and talking to a counselor or therapist adulthood, such as building a support system, navigating adult relationships, deciding whether to have children, and planning for their sibling’s future care Emotional and enlightening, this book for teen and adult siblings, and all professionals who support people with disabilities and their families.