Researchers from The Sibling Project Dr Emma Glasson, Caitlin Gray and Kate Dorozenko.
Data collection has been completed on a research project seeking to determine if the siblings of children with developmental disabilities seek mental health support.
This Embrace-funded research has shown that siblings are important pillars in their families, often holding great responsibility and stepping into important caring roles, demonstrating their resilience and compassion.
Many sibling participants spoke of their relationships with their brother or sister with a disability as being close, supportive, and as enriching their lives.
Siblings were very open about their support needs and gave rich information about their experiences and preferences. This engagement will directly inform the development of sibling-specific resources that are planned this year.
In 2023, the Sibling Research Team received an Embrace Seeding Grant to begin this project. The grant funded facilitated focus group discussions with siblings aged 13-25 about what types of mental health supports they are comfortable accessing, and how they can be best made available and visible.
Analysis is now underway on the collected data.
Thursday 10 April marks World Siblings Day, which represents an opportunity to shine a light on the experiences of siblings, and celebrate their special bonds.
The Sibling Research team are dedicated to increasing the visibility of children and young people who have a sibling with a developmental disability, and ensuring that they are supported to lead happy, healthy, fulfilling lives.
The Embrace Seeding Grants are funded by Embrace principal partner, Rio Tinto.