Customer Reviews

Views from Our Shoes: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Children with special needs affect the whole family. The siblings of these special children are special, too. They have needs that are put aside for another time, by their families and by themselves. They usually grow up to be more mature and compassionate, but with some supressed emotions. They are mommy's helpers for life. They need to learn that they are not alone, and this book starts that journey for them.

This book shows exactly how I, as a sibling, feel. I loved that it was written by kids about their own personal experiences. What a great book.

This excellent book is a forum for children ranging in ages 4 through 18 to explore their feelings and describe their experiences living with a sibling who has physical and/or mental difficulties.

One young girl describes her 24-year-old brother who is barely verbal and, in her words "is like a 4-year-old child." This young man loves clocks and can watch them indefintely and his sister describes her trips to clock shops so he can watch clocks.

Another child describes providing skilled care for her older brother who is 12 and has a severe case of cerebral palsy.

A brother and sister, in individual installments introduce readers to their sister who has Down Syndrome.

A young boy tells of life with a sibling who has autism.

These are but a few of the heartwarming, gut-wrenching real accounts involved in day-to-day contact with a sibling who has special needs. Each child brings a special brand of input to the table and readers will come away with a sense of empowerment and enrichment. This is an excellent book for families to bond over and explore issues with. It is also an extraordinary teaching tool. If nothing else, it will certainly raise the flag of acceptance. Please read this and share it with somebody.

Each essay begins with the full name and age of the author at the top of the page. At the bottom of each essay, in an italic font, is the name and age of the sibling who has a special need as well as the city and state. Also included are the hobbies and interest of each author. I was a bit surprised to see this much detail being included. There are a number of penciled drawings accompanying some of the essays by Cary Pillo.

I imagine some of the essays could cause embarrassment for some families since the kids were quite honest with their feelings and interpretations. One girl said she did not like when her mother yelled at her disabled brother. Many of the siblings assist in the daily living for their special needs brother or sister. Some of the essays offer advice on how to treat your sibling, while others have attended Sibshops and kept in contact with other siblings.

Each sibling cares for their brother or sister, worries about them when they are at school and has a basic understanding of the therapies involved with their siblings. The older siblings were able to express themselves with details on school placement and going out in the community with their special needs sibling.

A common statement from the siblings is how it is hard for them to do things they like because there is no one to watch their sibling with a disability and too hard to bring them along on outings in the community.

This has helped me as a parent to two autistic children because my older son is verbal and can comprehend that his brother is not like other kids.

I only wish books like Views from our Shoes: Growing Up with a Brother or Sister with Special Needs and Laughing & Loving with Autism: A Collection of "Real Life" Warm & Humorous Stories were around thirty years ago to assist me as a sibling. This is a real eye-opener to parents that have other children besides the one with special needs and offers a peak into the feelings of the siblings.

This book would be perfect for a school library and special education classrooms as well as a gift for a sibling to read through and find other siblings in the same situations.

My 11 year old daughter read this book and even asked if she could read some of "her favorite essays" to us - she is the older sibling of our 2 year old little girl who was born 17 weeks early and she has cerebral palsy, blindness, deafness, is tube-fed and chronically ill. Her favorite stories were of the ones that she could most relate to - like the little boy who said he did not understand why his sibling was so ill when she was born. I think it made my daughter feel like it was okay for her to have bad and good emotions about her little sister. I think it validated them.

Donald Meyer has compiled a wonderful book of essays from siblings of disabled children. My thirty year old son bought me this book for my birthday. Growing up, I too was one of these children and would have truly benefitted from anything that would have explained what happened to our family. As one of these sibs, I had to grapple with guilt, embarassment and also neglect from my parents due to the resources, both financial and emotional that were poured into my sister's handicap. My heart goes out to both parents and siblings of exceptional children. It is so much pain to bear for them and they feel even worse about complaining because they are "normal."

My 8 year old son loves reading me stories written by other siblings. Each story describes how challenging and rewarding it is to have a sibling with special needs. Thanks to all the wonderful kids who wrote in. My son is going to write his own story just for our family!
I would recommend this book highly!
Edie

My daughter has severe autism and it has been very hard on my oldest son (Almost 9yrs old). I bought this book with the hopes that he could read about other kids who had to live with the same kinds of stresses that he lives with having a special needs sister. He really liked the short stories written by other 'special kid' siblings and best of all, it has opened up a new world of communication between us. I highly recommend this book for any sibling who may be struggling with the role of being a brother/sister to a 'special needs' kid.

My daughter enjoys this book immensely. After reading only a few essays the first day she informed me that she was happy she had a brother with special needs. I wasn't worried much before the book but it helps to cement that idea and make it one she states outloud! She was also thrilled to find the guide in the back of the book on writing her own essay about her brother. While I do feel like a few disabilities are OVER used here and many left out, it's still a good book for kids in early elementary age. It opens my daughter's eyes to the fact that not everyone has the same disease or conditions. (My son has a genetic disease as well as a chromosomal disorder.)

I found this book to be very touching. The views of these children are so honest and inspiring, they have such a strong outlook on life. It is amazing how resiliant these children with disablities are and the postive effect they have on their family whether they know it or not. Having a cousin with Cerebral Palsy, I can get a better sense of how his older sister and twin brothers must be going through. I can't wait to share this book with them, and hopefully inspire them to write their own essay.