This episode of Parenting Impossible is dedicated to our special needs siblings.
Annette sits down with two incredible women who have put their heart and soul as well as dedicating their professional lives into making sure the siblings of special needs individuals are heard and valued.
Guests this week are Alexandria Nadworny and Hillary Dunn Stanisz and are both siblings of special needs individuals. Alexandria is a special needs financial planning specialist and Hillary is a senior attorney at the Disability Law Center in Boston.
The three discuss the ups and downs of being a family member as well as a sibling that may someday need to become a caretaker of their brother. They talk about their teenage years and are very honest with their feelings and amount of family engagement when they were younger. And, they also discuss some of the more humorous things that happened growing up.
What else about being a sibling? Well, they both admit that having a special needs brother was a great test for both friends and some of the boyfriends they brought home! Did they engage or were they not interested?
And both Alex and Hillary give some advice to other siblings about growing up as a special needs sibling, and what it takes to look to the future of care for their loved one.
All three give some heartfelt some parenting advice for special needs parents including how to support all the children in the family and treating each family member as an individual.
This episode is heartwarming, funny, honest and educational all at the same time.