A new study conducted by researchers at the University of Oregon took a look at older siblings of children on the autism spectrum, and found a slightly greater likelihood of developmental issues. The difference, however, was not statistically significant, which seems to beg the question "what precisely does this study show us?"
The researchers seemed equally puzzled by the usefulness of their findings, stating in today's Newswise: "We know there are risk factors, but we don't know if they result from having a child with autism, or if there are genetic predispositions as part of the broader autism picture," McIntyre said. "Are these difficulties the result of child-rearing challenges, or are they negatively impacted because of shared genetic risks?"
What do we really know so far about this issue?
We do know that autistic traits seem to run in families. We do know that parenting a child with autism can be difficult and stressful, and that the hard work and stress can take a toll on parents' time, energy, patience, relationships and bank accounts. We do know that being the sibling of a child with autism can be tough, as children with autism may take the lion's share of parents' time and energy - and living with an autistic sibling can be stressful, embarrassing, and even - at times - physically challenging.
It seems to be a no-brainer that parents and siblings of children with autism (particular autism in its more severe forms) are under unusual stress. In some cases, parents and siblings are able to rise to the challenge and actually grow stronger with the stress. In more cases, though, parents and siblings suffer from the strain, presenting with issues ranging from poor health and exhaustion to depression to hyperactivity.
In fact, say the researcher on this particular project:
Mothers of autistic children...need assistance for day-to-day child-rearing activities to give them some time to be individuals. As part of her research and clinical work at UO's nationally recognized Child and Family Center, she is looking at interventions that support parents and help kids with their daily living skills and behavior management.
- When Does the Sibling Without Autism Need Help?
- Knowing Joseph: A Children's Novel from the Sibling's Point of View
- Helping Mothers of Children with Autism Cope with Depression
- Getting Past Blame and Worry to Help Your Child with Autism
I read the first sentence as “Newswise — A new study suggests a trend toward developing hyperactivity among typically developing elementary-school-aged siblings of autistic preschoolers and supports the notion that mothers of young, autistic children experience more depression and stress than mothers with typically developing children.” I didn’t actually read developmental delays. I read overall, siblings experience symptoms similar to autism: widespread abnormalities of social interactions, communication and behavior. One thing not mentioned is as kid progress in academics is when you do find they can start having issues, and it seems behaviors follow when kids have a harder time understanding those academics. Obviously, the mother of such children would experience different emotional things than those mothers of typical children.
I think if anything useful comes from this, is the whole family needs to have supports than just parts of them, not to say only parts are addressed, but maybe a closer look is needed.
In the article farther down, it reads:
“These kids may start school OK, at least those from healthy families, but they may demonstrate difficulties over time. However, it has been shown that around 30 percent of siblings of autistic children have some associated difficulties in behavior, learning or development.” The focus does seems to be on ADHD-like issues, but this quote does suggest to me that there were also some implications regarding developmental issues. The study itself may contain more in this regard that is not reflected in the article.
The end of the article does suggest the need for supports for the entire family and specifically mentions the “need assistance for day-to-day child-rearing activities to give them [mothers of children with autism] some time to be individuals” and I agree. I was fortunate to have had a great deal of help from family regarding such day-to-day activities… and I am forever grateful to them for it.
My daughter was just entering Kindergarten when my son was diagnosed with autism. We were in hell, armies of therapists marching through our house with microscopes watching his every move. There was much sadness and anger at the pediatrician who blew us off and told us our son was really badly behaved. Then my daughter started to slide. We were told by several psychologists and clinicians that she had an assortment of learning disabilities. That she, like her brother would need a special school.
But sometimes a mother knows. Growing up with a severely mentally retarded brother, I can hardly remember a time when attention was solely on me. I had to get through school on my own, no help. So I got my daughter, who because of the status of her brother, was always under a microscope, a little tweaking. Where I(her mother)knew she needed it. And she’s gone above and beyond all expectations, now in 5th grade. She is happy, healthy and the best sibling and therapist to her younger brother.
I have a seven year-old autistic son. His younger brother is globally developmentally delayed, which couldn’t be explained by his spina bifida. Fortunately, multiple therapies have greatly helped him, but more than one therapist or doctor has said that part of his delay could be attributable to his older brother being on the spectrum.