Published on 12, July, 2020
I am very to close and have always being very involved in the care of my brother with autism and I just wanted to ask if there are any other siblings on here who have similiar experiences or to ask parents how involved are your children who are not on the spectrum with their sibling(s) who are?
I have found that there seems to be more awareness of autism now than when I was growing up so I also wanted to ask how do you explain what autism is? This was something I found difficult to explain as a child to other children so just out of interest I would like to know what your experiences with dealing with this are.
I have two autistic brothers and although I helped out with their care I did not have a significant caring responsibility as my parents took on this role.
I agree with what Sybil said in that I have never talked to anyone with an autistic sibling, which is something I would have benefited from whilst I was younger and living with my siblings.
When I was at school I did not advertise the fact that my brothers where autistic out of fear people would insult them - something which I would not have been able to cope with. However I explained it to my friends by describing their behaviours and what they liked and disliked. Now that I am an adult I am able to be open about my brothers being autistic and their is a greater understanding of what autism is from other people.
My siblings are at the stage now where they are becoming adults and this brings with it new dilemmas such as what are they going to do and where are they going to live. I still worry sometimes about the future and what will happen when my parents are no longer around.