“I Like That He Always Shows Who He Is”: The perceptions and experiences of siblings with a brother with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Semi‐structured interviews were used to explore the perceptions and experiences of eight typically developing siblings in middle childhood who had a brother with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The interviews were analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The analysis yielded five main themes: (i) siblings’ perceptions of the impact of their brother’s condition on their lives, (ii) siblings’ perceptions of the attitudes of others, (iii) siblings’ tolerance and acceptance towards their brothers, (iv) positive attitudes and experiences, and (v) siblings’ views on support for themselves and their brothers. These exploratory findings can be used to inform future larger scale studies and quantitative research. Initial implications for practice focus on issues related to enhancing the development of support services for siblings of children with ASD.

Keywords:

• autism
• Asperger’s syndrome
• families
• qualitative research
• siblings

Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by funding from the National Autistic Society Cymru and from the European Social Fund, Object 1 area funding.