The Baffling Behavior Show {Parenting after Trauma}

EP 188: Grief as the Sibling of a Child with Special Needs

Jul 23, 2024

Grief often goes unnoticed in families with special needs. Siblings may feel isolated and unacknowledged, experiencing complex emotions that deserve validation. The discussion focuses on open communication within families and how literature can help navigate these emotional challenges. Parents learn essential questions to help their children cope, creating a supportive environment where all feelings are recognized. Discover how to nurture deeper connections and foster understanding in the midst of challenging dynamics.

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ADVICE

Acknowledge Siblings' Struggles

Regularly acknowledge your children's struggles, especially siblings of children with special needs.
Show empathy and understanding for their unique challenges.

INSIGHT

The Unseen Sibling

Siblings of children with special needs often feel unseen because their needs are comparatively smaller.
Acknowledging this reality is crucial for validating their experiences.

INSIGHT

Minimizing Needs as a Stress Response

Siblings often minimize their own needs as a stress response to the family dynamics.
This coping mechanism can manifest as perfectionism, people-pleasing, or withdrawal.

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Grief is hard to acknowledge and talk about. The truth is, there is grief involved with being the sibling of a child with a special need. In today’s episode, we’re exploring how to support the siblings of kids with a nervous system disability with behavior-based symptoms with all their feelings, especially grief.

In this episode, you’ll learn

How to validate all your children’s feelings, even when they are really uncomfortable
How to acknowledge the truth that in most circumstances, your other children really are less seen in your family
The four questions to ask yourself when thinking about how to help your kids with their grief

Resources mentioned in this podcast:

Read the full transcript at: RobynGobbel.com/siblinggrief

Teaching kids about their owl, watchdog, and possum brain is one key piece of growing their owl brain and calming their watchdog and possum brain!

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