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SibShop Helps
Children Better Understand Their Special Needs
Sibling
Monday, August 16,
2010) Having to put up with a brother or sister
can be one of the most frustrating and annoying
aspects of childhood. It can also lead to one
of the most rewarding and influential relationships
of our lives. Does that change if your brother
or sister has a disability?
Brothers and sisters will
have the longest lasting relationship with a
sibling who has a disability, one that can easily
exceed 65 years. During their lives, they will
experience most of the unique concerns and joys
their parents do. But few siblings of children
with special needs ever have a chance to talk
about their issues with others who “get
it”…until now.
SibShop Norman is part
of a statewide program designed to provide peer
support and education for boys and girls six
to thirteen who have siblings with a special
need within a recreational context. These workshops
are a lively, pedal-to-the-metal celebration
of the many contributions made by brothers and
sisters. The SibShop also acknowledges that
being the brother or sister of a person with
special needs is for some, a good thing, for
others a not-so-good thing and for many, somewhere
in between.
SibShop Norman will be
held on Saturdays at the J. D. McCarty Center
for children with developmental disabilities
located at 2002 East Robinson Street. SibShop
Norman will be divided into two age groups.
Kids six to nine years old will meet from 10:30
a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Their workshop dates are October
16, January 15, 2011, February19 and April 16.
Kids ten to thirteen will
meet from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on November
20, January 15, 2011, March 26 and May 21.
The cost to participate
is $6 per child or $20 per child for all four
workshops. For multiple siblings, the cost is
$15 for each additional sibling if all workshops
are paid for in advance.
Lunch will be provided.
Research shows that the
concerns of brothers and sisters of children
with special health needs parallel that of their
parents. These concerns include: a life-long
and ever-changing need for information about
the disability or illness; feelings of isolation
when they are excluded from information available
to other family members, ignored by service
providers or denied access to peers who share
their often ambivalent feelings about their
siblings; feelings of guilt about having caused
the illness or disability, or being spared having
the condition; feeling of resentment when the
child with special needs becomes the focus of
the family’s attention or is permitted
to engage in behavior not allowed other family
members; a perceived pressure to achieve in
academics, sports or behavior; increased care
giving demands, especially for older sisters;
and concerns about their future and their sibling’s
future.
The statewide SibShop
program is a collaborative initiative funded
by the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council.
Lori Wathen is the state SibShop coordinator.
Other partners in this program include: the
Oklahoma Family Network, the Oklahoma Family
Leadership Council at the Center for Learning
and Leadership and the Child Study Center at
the University of Oklahoma’s Health Sciences
Center’s Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics
Section.
The SibShop program will
provide support and technical assistance to
families, organizations or agencies that are
interested in establishing SibShops in their
communities.
There are currently SibShop
programs in Oklahoma City, Norman, Tulsa, Muskogee
and Enid.
For more information
about the Norman SibShop contact Kerri Brooks
at 249.1925 or normansibshops@gmail.com.
For more information about the statewide program
contact Lori Wathen at 271.5700, extension 45180,
or
lori-wathen@ouhsc.edu
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