All siblings share a unique relationship with each other.
They fight, love, share and care for each other in special way.
They offer each other memorable companionship while growing up.
These memories and bond can become even more special if you have a sibling with special need.
All siblings experience rivalry off and on, but having a sibling with special needs is a special challenge.
Even normal siblings might disagree, argue and even sometimes may not even like each other.
But at other times they enjoy sharing experiences and take pride in each other's accomplishments.
This experience may be different with a sibling of a special need.
The Importance of Getting Support There can be nothing better, if a special child gets love and support of his sibling.
To develop such bond may not easy.
Initially, siblings may not even understand each other and may face difficulty in associating each other.
Here, parents play a very important role.
Slowly and steadily with time, parents can make effort to bring them closer and comprehend each other further.
This understanding is more important for the normal sibling than special one as the major responsibility of understanding this exceptional relationship lies on him.
A sibling of a special child must encompass following traits - - Patience - Kindness - supportiveness - Acceptance of differences - Compassion and helpfulness - Empathy for others and insight into coping with challenges - Dependability and loyalty- that may come from standing up for their brother or sister.
Difficult Feelings That Siblings May Develop - Your child may, at times, have trouble coping up as sibling of a child with special needs.
He/she may develop many different and even conflicting feelings.
For example, they may feel: - Embarrassed about their sibling's differences - Guilty for harboring negative feelings towards their sibling - Excessive worried about their sibling - Scared that they will lose their sibling - Jealous of the attention that their sibling receives - Angry that no one pays attention to them - Pressure to be or do what their sibling cannot Challenges that Siblings Face Siblings of children with special needs may have special needs themselves as they may receive less attention and care than them.
Their sister or brother with special needs may always receive a bigger share of attention.
It is here where parents can play a crucial role and help ease the difficulties.