The Glass Child

"If you don't ask, you don't find a problem." Louise Heck was 18 months old when her sister Carson was born with a significant disability — she's never known life without her. Now a social worker who runs sibling support groups, Louise brings both lived experience and clinical insight to this conversation about parentification, guilt, and the anxiety of caregiving that may outlast her own lifetime...

Part Two: The HOPE Framework in Action with Bernard Hennigan and Kim Manzo Glass children are really good at not asking for help. So what happens when the help finds them instead? What if the systems around a child worked like a plane with multiple engines? If one fails — the home, the neighborhood, the family — another one keeps you in the air. No crashing and burning. That's exactly what Bernard...

Part One: Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences: How the HOPE Framework changes lives The absence of the good stuff can be more damaging than the presence of the bad stuff. That's the finding at the heart of the HOPE framework — Healthy Outcomes from Positive Experiences — and honestly, when I first heard it, I was skeptical. Positive experiences? That's the solution? But then I talked to Ama...

Glass children grew up taking care of their disabled sibling. They took on roles and responsibilities years ahead of their chronological age and maturity. It left them with a deep sense of duty to others. But it also left some feeling empty, confused, and invisible. What happens when you spend decades caring for everyone else—and then finally turn that care toward yourself? Paula Wiese is a former...

How do you navigate the space between being both a sibling and a caregiver?   Many Glass Children struggle with this 'both/and'—and it's something we talk a lot about on our podcast. But how do you actually live it? How do you nurture a relationship of caregiving while also nurturing a relationship of sibling-hood? Today's guest is shaking things up! Dr. Zara Waldman, PhD, CCC-SLP, is a Glass Chil...

Today on The Glass Child, we're zooming out. Whether you were the helper, the peacemaker, or the kid who stayed small so others could shine—your relationship with your mother shaped you before you had words for it. And those patterns don't disappear. Join us as we explore the mother-daughter life cycle with Khara Croswaite Brindle, MA, LPC, ACS, CFT™. Khara has her own counseling practice, is a TE...

Diane has no memory of life before David. She was only four years old when her brother was born, but quickly became his near-constant companion, helper, interpreter, and "little Mom." She speaks candidly about her experiences growing up with a disabled sibling, including one particularly painful day following her mom's death.   Find Diane's book at her blog:    https://www.tulsakids.com/author/dia...

In today's episode, we talk with Samantha about a topic that affects so many Glass Children: parentification. Parentification happens when a child ends up acting like the parent—taking on adult responsibilities they shouldn't have to handle. This might mean doing household chores, managing bills, or providing emotional support like mediating family fights or being a parent's therapist. It usually...

Why do our siblings matter so much to us—for better or worse? What makes these relationships so special? How do they shift as we grow up, and how do things like personality, care needs, and family dynamics shape them? Our guest today, Dr. Avidan Milevsky, breaks down how siblings influence each other—both directly, through day-to-day interactions and role modeling, and indirectly, by changing the...

Caregiving: the activity or profession of regularly looking after a child or a sick, elderly, or disabled person. That's a fairly straightforward definition. But what happens in families where regularly looking after a child falls on another child? When the care needs of one or more siblings overwhelm the adults in the family? Today we are talking to Terrence Ho. Terrence's brother had Duchenne Mu...