Sibling Rilvalry

LilR

7 March 2013 22:50

My eldest son (%) is on the spectum, and just starting at a new school. We also have a 4 year old, who has no problems, and he is a fab little boy, who is a saving grace most days and is my sanity on bad days.. I love him dearly, but I am worried that with all the pressure and attention we have had over past 6 months on his brother that he feels left out, he is really friendly but will talk to anyone and run up to people and hug them, and as swet as that seems its not really ideal inthe unsafe world that we live.

Am I over reacting, any suggestions how we can make this a all round good experianence, I want him to stay the lovely boy that he is, but I als need him to realise that at times Thomas needs a little extra attention.x

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Mike Stuart 8 March 2013 16:02	Hi LilR, Have you heard of the charity Sibs? They might have some resources which could be useful for your younger son, especially the YoungerSibs section. - Mike, Community Manager (mike@talkaboutautism.org.uk)
LilR 8 March 2013 17:20	Thanks Mike I will have a look.
Mullybum 8 March 2013 18:22	Hi LilR There are some books you can get that help children understand why their sibling is different, we got one for my stepson to help explain what autism is and why our little one behaves differently. Can't remember the name of it but there are a few on amazon called 'my brother has autism' and 'my brother is different' some of them are aimed at an older sibling with younger brother with autism but would still help to explain things to your younger son. The one we got was aimed at younger children. Re the running up and hugging everyone, I think it's a common problem with young children and just a case of making him aware that you can only do it with people that you know well (ie family and close friends), he should be old enough to understand that at 4, and there are also books you can get on not talking to strangers that are aimed at young children that might help to explain it x Sharon - Community Champion