The Special Needs Sibling Podcast

Coming May 14, Forces of Nature: A Memoir of Family, Loss, and Finding Home. Pre-Order today anywhere books are sold online! Gina (a fellow sib) is the author of Forces of Nature: A Memoir of Family, Loss, and Finding Home . She gives a summary of the book in this bonus episode. You can pre-order today (anywhere books are sold online) and learn more about Gina here:https://linktr.ee/ginadwagner Ps...

In this episode we talk about: Allan’s family and brother with an intellectual disability How having a special needs sibling was different in the 1950s versus in the 2000s (and today) How life is being your own sibling’s guardian Family dynamics between parents and siblings Difficulties of having a sibling join ill-equipped institutions Not being afraid to admit negative feelings Allan’s encourage...

In this episode we talk about: Freya’s family and brother with Autism Different ways of communicating with siblings Growing up and learning through siblings Learning, unlearning and relearning routines Seeing siblings grow up Social care work and its importance Freya’s encouragement to fellow siblings Find Freya on Instagram @diaryofascw More Info: Check out the blog and contact Charlene here: htt...

In this episode we talk about: Emily’s family and brother with an intellectual disability Future Planning and having conversations and the thought process Being a smiling and being a primary caregiver and the transition Building a support community around you Being terrible about letting people taking care of us About Sibshops and older siblings being involved Emily’s encouragement to fellow sibli...

In this episode: Charlene and Anastasia play party games and open gifts! Links: Anastasia’s first episode: Episode 2 Feelings wheel: https://feelingswheel.com/   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:/...

In this episode we talk about: Jessica’s family and brother with Autism The current future plan for her brother Jessica’s projects with her non-profit Subgroups within the sibling experience Finding out when your sibling has been diagnosed with special needs The world’s progression towards people and families with special needs Patterns Jessica has observed in their parent trainings  How communica...

Where's episode 27??? Do not fear, episodes are still here! (It'll just be here on 2/24.) We're changing things up and episodes will be releasing every other Saturday instead of every other Tuesday. Stay tuned and thanks for listening! Music by Grand_Project from Pixabay

In this episode we talk about: Molly’s family and brothers and sisters with Cerebral Palsy and Learning Disabilities  Learning from other siblings of siblings with disabilities Being leaders in the family Adaption of our siblings regimented schedules How sibling relationships change as they get older  Anna’s growth through the Take Me Home Film Our sibling’s transition in moving to their new homes...

In this episode we talk about: Ashley’s family and brother with autism, schizophrenia and tourette Guilt and daily fighting growing up Transition of Carter’s disabilities when he got a little older Carter’s group living home Impact of Carter’s relationship with Ashley over the years Carter’s schizophrenia and some crazy stories  Family Vacations Looking back at memories together as a family School...

In this episode we talk about: Kate’s family and older sister with Cerebral Palsy What lead Kate to write her book Meeting other siblings of people with special needs Experiences in therapy How different countries treat/label siblings of people with special needs  Self reflection of one's childhood Kate’s encouragement to fellow siblings Links: Siblings Australia: https://siblingsaustralia.org.au/...

Dating is difficult. Now add in explaining to your partner about guardianship, conservatorship, and emotional baggage from your childhood. There's no better power than special needs sibling advocacy. about the issues we're facing, educating people, and actively participating in the community to show people that we matter just as much as everyone else in the disability community. Listen to Natalie'...

It's already tough being a primary caretaker for your sibling, but it's nice to have a caregiver because we still deserve to live our lives too. And also have income. Listen to Susan's scary stories about finding the caregiver right for her situation because it was tough. In this episode we talk about: Check out the previous episode to hear about Susan’s brother and his disability Reference to Che...

It's something that every sibling thinks about, consciously or unconsciously, but when it really happens, there's still a lot of unexpected twists and turns no matter how much we think we've thought out. Take a listen to Susan's story about becoming the primary caretaker of her older brother and how that's changed their sibling relationship. Check out episode 22A for part 1 of her story. In this e...

Grief can be a pretty tough thing to go through. What happens when that gets compounded with being a sibling to someone with a disability? Listen to Caroline's story and find out how she got involved in the community and hear fun stories about her sister. In this episode we talk about: About Caroline’s family and sister with cerebral palsy, severe intellectual disabilities, epilepsy  Caroline’s si...

Helping our siblings in their daily routine comes so naturally to us that we just end up doing it for everyone and forget that we don't have to. Sometimes it's nice to be by yourself, with your own thoughts, or even if not with your own thoughts, with a good movie or TV show. It's a lot of balancing, but it's also who we are as siblings who evolve right along with our sibs with disabilities. Liste...

A bonus episode where we get to talk with fellow special needs sibling Liz, who wrote and directed a film inspired by her sister Anna, who is affected by disability! A brief synopsis of the film: After their mother’s death, a cognitively disabled woman and her estranged sister must learn to communicate in order to move forward.  Extra extra! Another one of Liz and Anna's sisters, Molly, got to be...

The power of connection with other siblings is very real!  Even if you're just at work in the break room, you never know who will benefit from hearing you share your story.  Know that there are lots of us special needs siblings out there who feel your pain, sorrow, happiness, and joy.  There's a lot out there to feel, and there's a lot to be shared.  Hear Danica's story in episode 19. In this epis...

Life is pretty tough as a sibling because there's a lot to process.  Becoming more self aware and reflecting to see how our past shows up in our day to day can be exhausting.  Sometimes calling out to a higher power (no matter who or what that may be for you) is really important.  This can help give us strength to pick up ourselves and be able to continue to be the caring humans we want to be....

Being a special needs sibling on opposite sides of the globe has more overlap than you might think!  Even though there are cultural differences in our day to day, there are definitely large overlapping feelings and frustrations that we share with each other.  Check out this conversation with Kara to hear her story on episode 17. In this episode we talk about: About Kara’s family and brother with A...

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...

Here's some info about The Sibling Leadership Network from one of our siblings who's involved in supporting fellow siblings. Check out her full story in episode 16! https://siblingleadership.org Music by FASSounds from Pixabay

Conversations about what it's like being a sibling are starting to gain more traction.  And sometimes we don't feel like talking about our feelings, but we want to hear about other people's experiences.  As we continue to venture into the world of siblings, the more conversations we start having around emotional support are just as important.  Take a listen to Ali's story in episod...

Sometimes expectations are meant to be shattered, and other times expectations can make us feel worse in a situation than it really is. Feeling seen, heard, and understood is so important to siblings and yet we forget that, or maybe don't learn it until much later on in life. Going through adversity has up sides, but there are also downsides too that can have long lasting effects. Talking to s...

Everyone's sibling experience is unique and individual and at the same time can be a great bonding experience with other siblings. There are so many pros and cons to living life as a sibling that we don't know how to vocalize our needs sometimes. It's definitely a process and a balance trying to hold everything together, but it takes time! And even then, it's still a unique experie...

Going through the healing process is so helpful for all members of the family, whether they're affected by disability or they're typical. Having the tools to help Recognize what we're scared of and how we view our situation is so important because that is a choice we can make.  Check out this conversation with Louloua to see how she chose happiness and how that changed her life forever...