Having a disability is challenging. It’s hard to watch others do certain activities easier, it’s hard to make friends, and it’s hard to be considered not “normal”. While these are all valid challenges with having a disability, it is also hard to be on the outside. Being the sibling of a disabled child has many of its challenges and disadvantages, and siblings of disabled children develop and mature much faster than siblings without a disabled sister or brother. Keren Landman’s article “Growing Up Alongside a Sibling With a Disability,” (https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/11/parenting/children-sibling-disability.html) highlights the positive and negative effects a sibling with a disability has on one without a disability.
Landman speaks of her
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Anna, now 21 years old, was born with a mental and physical disability. She was diagnosed with Sturge-Webber Syndrome, which is a neurological disorder characterized by a port-wine stain birthmark on the forehead and upper eyelid on one side of the face. Anna has very limited use of her left arm and hand, along with a slight limp on her left leg, glaucoma in her left eye, and ADHD. Anna’s disability limits her in many things, but our family was lucky in that she is very high functioning despite all her challenges. This is the first time I’ve ever considered that other people might go through the same issues as I did, and these two articles sum up mostly all of my past and present experiences, which developed me into who I am today. Although I am two years younger than Anna, I have been looking out for her since we started elementary school. She used to come crying to me during class and I would have to leave to make sure she was okay and calm her down. As I got older and wanted to become more independent and make new friends, it was harder for me to break away or do my own thing because I always had what felt like a rope yanking me back