Information for siblings

Having a person with autism (including Asperger syndrome) in your family can have an impact on everyone, not just parents. 

Younger people who have a sibling with autism might experience teasing from other children, lack of privacy, disruption of home life and a feeling of resentment that the whole focus of the family is always on the person with autism.

Older siblings may worry about whether they are going to have to look after their brother or sister after their parents have died.

However, being a sibling of a person with autism is not necessarily all bad. Research has suggested that, although it can be a stressful experience at times, it does not in the long run necessarily have a negative effect. Many brothers and sisters say that learning to see the world through the eyes of their sibling has taught them to become more tolerant of people's differences.

In this section you can find out a bit more about autism and some of the help available to brothers and sisters.

Related resources

• Real life stories: parents and carers
  
• Real life stories: people with autism and Asperger syndrome
  
• Families: ideas for days out
  
• Family and siblings