Siblings of Children with Autism: An Exploratory Study of Sibling Concerns and Coping Strategies

Undergraduate Review Volume 6 Article 10 2010 Siblings of Children with Autism: An Exploratory Study of Sibling Concerns and Coping Strategies Mary Canha Follow this and additional works at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev Part of the Social Work Commons Recommended Citation Canha, Mary (2010). Siblings of Children with Autism: An Exploratory Study of Sibling Concerns and Coping Strategies. Undergraduate Review, 6, 42-46. Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/undergrad_rev/vol6/iss1/10 This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Copyright © 2010 Mary Canha Siblings of Children with Autism: An Exploratory Study of Sibling Concerns and Coping Strategies MARY CANHA Mary is a senior majoring in social work with a minor in psychology. Her research was made possible with funding from a 2009 ATP summer research grant under the mentorship of Dr. Lucinda KingFrode and was presented at NCUR 2010. Mary says that the inspiration for the project came from high rates of diagnosis in autism spectrum disorders and knowing many families affected by the diagnosis. A utism (sometimes called “classical autism”) is the most common condition in a group of developmental disorders known as the autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and is characterized by impaired social interaction, problems with verbal and nonverbal communication, and unusual, repetitive, or severely limited activities and interests (NINDS, NIH, 2009). Other ASDs include Asperger Syndrome, Rett Syndrome, Childhood Disintegrative Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder not otherwise specified (usually referred to as PDD-NOS). Experts estimate that three to six children out of every 1,000 will have autism. Males are four times more likely to have autism than females. (NINDS, NIH, 2009) The rise in the rate of the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders makes it essential for social workers to gain insight into its impact on families including the siblings. Limitations in social interaction and empathy in a child with autism can have both positive and negative impacts on the siblings of these children. So what coping strategies do these siblings use to manage their reactions to the challenges presented by their autistic sibling? I interviewed seven siblings of autistic children to contribute to the knowledge that helps social workers better serve these families by gaining access into the siblings’ concerns and how they manage those concerns. Background Research While deficits in social interactions are a key issue in a child with an ASD, some studies found that a sibling relationship provides a learning environment for the development of such skills in the child with ASD. One of these studies found that children with ASD demonstrated skills in interaction with their siblings which is rarely reported with their peers and noted that an ASD child may gain positive outcomes regarding pro-social behaviors when having a typically developing sibling (Knott, Lewis, & Williams, 2007). This research by Knott, Lewis, and Williams (2007) studied six ASD sibling dyads, 10 Down’s Syndrome dyads, and utilized existing literature on typically developing sibling dyads. There has also been some research on the impact on typically developing siblings when having an ASD sibling. Research by Dawson, Fein, Greenson, Meltzoff, and Toth (2007) noted that siblings, ages 18-27 months, of a child with ASD had lower mean receptive language, adaptive behavior, and social communication skills and used fewer 42 • THE UNDERGRADUATE REVIEW • 2010 BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE words, gestures, and responsive social smiles than comparison children without a sibling with ASD. When compared with a normative sample, siblings of children with ASD were rated as having fewer hyperactivity problems but more behavior problems (Hastings, 2007). Research by Macks and Reeve (2007) indicated that the presence of a child with ASD appears to enhance the psychosocial and emotional developments of non-disabled siblings when demographic risk factors are limited, however, the same study revealed that the presence of a child with ASD appears to have an unfavorable impact on the non-disabled sibling as demographic risk factors increase. The demographics cited as placing a child more at risk for social, emotional, and scholastic difficulties were being a male, having only one sibling, coming from a family with low socioeconomic status, and being older than the child with ASD (Macks & Reeves, 2007). Research by Orsmond and Seltzer (2007) on the effects of siblings on adult life revealed that siblings of adults with ASD had less contact with their brother or sister, reported lower levels of positive affect in the relationship, and felt more pessimistic about their brother or sister’s future. It appears that as demographic risk factors increase the sibling of a child with ASD experiences more emotional and psychological stressors. Since relationships are based on reciprocal interactions and children with ASD are typically lacking in this area, one might wonder how siblings adjust to this one way relationship. In examining the coping strategies used by siblings of children with autism, emotion-focused techniques were more often used than problem-focused techniques (Cuskelly & Ross 2006). Coping strategies refer to the specific efforts, both behavioral and psychological, that people employ to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize stressful events. Two general coping strategies have been defined: problem-solving strategies are efforts to do something active to alleviate stressful circumstances and emotion-focused coping strategies involve efforts to regulate the emotional consequences of stressful or potential stressful events. While most people utilize both coping strategies dependent on the event or situation, often times problemsolving techniques are thought to be the healthier of the two. Coping strategies are often measured quantitatively and with pre-determined syndrome-specific behaviors in mind, however, often in such studies, the siblings fill out scales and have been asked questions that point out behaviors associated with a child with an ASD such as; “What do you do when your brother/ sister is being aggressive?” The reality is that the questions asked of the siblings are often based on underlying expectations that are behavior specific for a child with an ASD. Given the uniqueness of the diagnosis, I wondered whether the direction of these questions captured the siblings’ perceptions and worries. This study didn’t provide a “scale” or point out the BRIDGEWATER STATE COLLEGE characteristically negative behaviors of the disabled sibling and how the subjects cope with those; I asked the sibling what they worry about and how they manage those worries. I suspected the siblings not only worry about syndrome-specific behaviors but also adult-based concerns. Methodology T (...truncated)