Fw: Workshops on Sibling Issues and Training on the Sibshop Model

[Guest guest]

Subject: Workshops on Sibling Issues and Training on the Sibshop ModelTo: Autism-Florida-owner Date: Tuesday, August 25, 2009, 12:50 PM

Dear colleague,Like you, I “own†lists on Yahoogroups. My lists include SibNet (for adult siblings of people with disabilities), SibKids (for young siblings), and SibParent (a place for parents to talk about their “other†kids). I also direct the Sibling Support Project, a national organization dedicated to the life-long concerns of brothers and sisters of people with special health, developmental, and mental health concerns. Although we have numerous sibling-related initiatives, we are probably best known for Sibshops and our workshops on brothers’ and sisters’ unique concerns and opportunities. We are in the process of getting the word out about our workshops and training on the Sibshop model. As noted in the email below, at most of the 260 Sibshops worldwide over half of the kids who attend have siblings who have an autism spectrum disorder.

Consequently, I would very much like to reach leaders in the autism community and families of children with autism.Could you please share the announcement found below with members of your Yahoogroup and service providers and families who may be interested? Thank you, in advance, for any help you can provide. Please visit our website to learn more about Sibshops, our Yahoogroups, and the work of our project. And please let me know if I can answer any questions!Best regards,Don MeyerDirector, Sibling Support ProjectA Kindering Center program6512 23rd Ave NW, #213Seattle, WA 98117 USA Fax: donmeyer@...Sibling Support Project website: http://www.siblingsupport.org/ Our brothers, Our sisters,

Ourselves_________________________________________Workshops on Sibling Issues and Training on the Sibshop ModelThe Sibling Support Project is pleased to announce that we are now scheduling workshops for 2009 and 2010. Please share this announcement with families you know and training directors, conference planners, and coordinators of family services from appropriate agencies.Many agencies wisely value the families they serve and are committed to providing family-centered care and services. However, even the most family-friendly agencies often overlook brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters are too important to ignore, if only for these reasons:

Siblings will be in the lives of family members with autism longer than anyone. Brothers and sisters will be there after parents are gone and special education services are a distant memory. If they are provided with support and information, they can help their sibs live dignified lives from childhood to their senior years.

Throughout their lives, brothers and sisters share many of the concerns that parents of children with autism spectrum disorders experience, including isolation, a need for information, guilt, concerns about the future, and caregiving demands. Brothers and sisters also face issues that are uniquely theirs including resentment, peer issues, embarrassment, and pressure to achieve.

No classmate in an inclusive classroom will have a greater impact on the social development of a child with autism than brothers and sisters will. They will be their siblings’ life-long “typically-developing role models.†The Sibling Support Project is a national project dedicated to the concerns of brothers and sisters of people with special health, developmental and mental health concerns. We specialize in providing lively, family-friendly, and highly rated workshops on sibling (and father and grandparent!) issues to audiences of parents, service providers, university staff and students, and siblings of all ages. We’ve conducted workshops on sibling issues in all 50 states, England, Canada, Ireland, Japan, Guatemala, and New Zealand, and have helped

establish over 260 replications of our award-winning Sibshop program in eight countries. Our books for families include Sibshops, Views from Our Shoes, Living with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs, Uncommon Fathers, The Sibling Slam Book, and Thicker than Water. And our work and publications have been featured in newspapers (Washington Post, New York Times), magazines (Exceptional Parent, Sesame Street Parent, Reader’s Digest), professional publications (JASH, Journal of Pediatric Psychology, The American Academy of Pediatrics News), and television (ABC News’ 20/20, Nightline & World News Tonight and Brazelton on Parenting) across the United States. We’d welcome an opportunity to present at your agency or your next conference or training event. We’ll show you how parents and providers can decrease siblings’

concerns and increase their opportunities, how to create “sibling friendly†services, and even how to start your own Sibshop. Addressing siblings’ concerns benefits everyone: brothers, sisters, parents, agencies, taxpayers and especially the family member who has autism. In many important ways, brothers and sisters ARE the future--and are too important to ignore. If you would like to learn more about our workshops, seminars, and keynotes please call or contact us by email and we’ll be happy to send you more information. Our schedule is beginning to fill up, but we still have openings.. Don MeyerDirector, Sibling Support ProjectA Kindering Center program6512 23rd Ave NW, #213Seattle, WA 98117 USAdonmeyer@...Sibling Support Project website: http://www.siblingsupport.org/ Our brothers, Our sisters, Ourselves PS—The most common condition represented at the 260 Sibshops worldwide is autism! At most Sibshops, over half of the kids who Sibshops attend have brothers and sisters with autism spectrum disorders. Check out this powerful ABC News 20/20 segment about Sibshops and a sister of young man with autism who attends them.