Sibling involvement in interventions for children with a disability: a systematic review

Abstract

Purpose

To conduct a systematic review of the involvement of siblings of individuals with a disability in therapeutic interventions to explore (a) sibling roles, (b) reported outcomes related to participant skills, interactions, or relationships, and (c) participant experiences.

Methods

A search of popular databases and grey literature was completed identifying studies published in English from 1999-2020. In total, 14,815 citations were extracted. Following a review of titles and abstracts, 31 studies met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for study quality.

Results

The most common role assigned to siblings was that of a trained playmate (n = 11), followed by an untrained playmate (n = 5). Overall, the interventions reported positive outcomes, although sample sizes were small and variability in outcomes was high. None of the studies included adult participants and most (n = 28, 90.32%) included participants who had a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Over half of the studies reported participant experiences of the intervention, with most reporting positive experiences.

Conclusions

Notwithstanding the reported positive outcomes of the interventions in this review, further research is needed to better understand the specific impact of involving siblings in interventions, as is research with adult participants and participants with diagnoses other than ASD.

Implications for Rehabilitation

• Siblings can fulfil a range of roles, (e.g., trained playmate, instructor, model), when participating in interventions for an individual with a disability. frequently with positive outcomes.

• While overall involving siblings in interventions seems to lead to positive outcomes, the specific effect of involving a sibling (rather than a peer or parent) in an intervention is not clear.

• Most of the available research has focused on children with a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and so the findings may not apply across all disability groups.

• It is important to acknowledge sibling opinions about taking part in such interventions to ensure all participants’ needs are being met.

Keywords:

• Siblings
• disability
• intervention
• sibling role
• systematic review

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Dr. Órla Gilheaney, Lána McCarthy and Rachel Kierney for their assistance with this review. This research was funded as part of Trinity College Dublin’s Provost PhD Awards.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.