Families with an autistic child face many challenges. Parents struggle with the time they need to spend individually with the autistic child and with the time needed for other family members. There may also be events that the family cannot partake in because they have no one else to care for the child with autism. No matter what the situation, there needs to be a balance within the household on how situations are handled, so that the child who has autism and the family can co-exist in harmony.

The stress that a sibling of an autistic child may be coping with should not be discounted. The stress that parents feel is most likely felt by the other children in the household as well, yet a lot will depend on the age of the sibling. They might be ashamed of their brother or sister’s autistic behavior. They may also not understand why their sibling does not respond to them when they try to communicate.

In the case of a much older child, they may even have concerns about who will be responsible for their autistic sibling when their mother and father are deceased. While many times parents tend not to pay attention to the feelings of the other children when it comes to serious issues, these should not be overlooked. Children of all ages can have very real concerns and can feel like no one cares if these concerns are not addressed.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 8:18 pm and is filed under Health & Beauty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.