It's very sweet, and I think it may be close to the conflicting feelings that siblings feel. The author's son has autism, and the narrator of her book is the sister of a boy with autism. I read it just because Madame Librarian recommended it, but now I'm thinking about my two kids.
We sent Andy to a "sibshop" a few years ago, a weekend get-together for kids like him, with "different" siblings. It wasn't wildly successful. I suppose if the events were more frequent, he could have made friends with a few kids. But it was an annual thing, and awkward. We didn't try it again.
I don't think Andy has any friends with a similar relationship. He has a friend who is often stuck at home watching his toddler brother. His other best friend is an only child, but that boy's mom has a serious recurrent health problem. Does Andy ever feel like he needs to vent? I know he feels that his sister takes a disproportionate amount of our time and attention, and I know he feels it's unfair.
But is it more more than typical sibling resentment? I don't think I have any way of knowing. If I ask him, it's a certain shutdown. One of his teachers shared that Andy feels we love Rose more than we love him. Is this out of the range of normal?
Anyway, I guess I'll give him the book to read. He'll finish it in an hour or so, if he deigns to read it at all.
2 comments:
I'm pretty sure just knowing you as I do (which isn't much but I get the jist) that you are very fair and diplomatic mom. As the kids get older Andy will undoubtedly see that, and know that the love you gave to Rose made her into the kind of adult he can be true friends with.
That librarian lady is puurrdy smart.
Hi--I have a google alert program that lets me know when "sibshops" show up on websites, blogs, and news articles. I help local agencies start Sibshops and you're right--a once per year Sibshop doesn't have the impact that a Sibshop that meets more frequently does. Still, it can be good to meet other sibs, even in the pages of books. I have two books that I edited and were written by young sibs--Views from Our Shoes and The Sibling Slam Book. The latter was written with the help of 80 teen sibs from four countries. As a mom, you may be interested in SibParent, a new listserv we started. As the name suggests, it is a place where parents can discuss their "other kids." Should you wish, you can learn more about Sibshops, our books, or SibParent at http://www.siblingsupport.org
Don Meyer
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