HOW DID THE PANDEMIC CHANGE LIFE FOR
sibling carers?
IT WASN’T SMOOTH SAILING FOR SIBLINGS OF CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES BEFORE THE PANDEMIC – AND THINGS ARE EVEN MORE DIFFICULT NOW.
F
or the estimated half a million children and young people in the UK supporting a brother or sister with a disability, their needs often go unmet, and the past couple of years have deepened this impact. Children and young people growing up with a disabled brother or sister are under more pressure and have more concerns than their peers. They also often get less attention from parents, and are required to help with household tasks and physical care, as well as offering emotional support for their parents. Loneliness and isolation has hit families with a disabled member particularly hard. Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou, University College London Researcher and
26
a Trustee of Sibs, the charity for siblings of disabled children and adults, says, “siblings are at higher risk of loneliness and/or lack of social support due to unexpressed emotions, fear of stigma, worries and awareness of community’s prejudice against developmental and health problems that their brother or sister face and fear of rejection.” The Children’s Society report that as many as one in three young carers have been diagnosed with a mental health condition, a problem exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Staff on the ground have seen this first hand. Nicola Bell, Youth Engagement Officer for Carers Trust’s Scotland team, says,
“My engagement work with young carers and young adult carers over the past two years has highlighted the impact the pandemic has had on these young people and in particular, the impact on their mental health.” This powerful effect on mental health was mirrored in a new report by Sibs, the charity for siblings of disabled children and adults, which showed that 81% of parents felt their sibling child’s mental health had worsened over the course of the pandemic. Many support networks, including schools, clubs and mental health programmes, stopped overnight. In a UK-wide survey commissioned by Carers Trust in 2020, 69% of young carers and young adult carers
