Many siblings anticipate fulfilling caregiving roles for their brothers and sisters with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Given these roles and the importance of supported decision making, it is crucial to understand how individuals with IDD and their siblings make decisions. Using dyadic interviews, we examined the perspectives…

Adult siblings of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) report struggling to navigate the adult disability service delivery system and collaborate with professionals. To date, though, it is unclear how professionals encourage sibling involvement and, accordingly, the facilitators and challenges in working with…

Sibling relationships are some of the longest-lasting relationships people experience, providing ample opportunities to build connections across the life span. For siblings and people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD), these connections take on an increased significance as their families age and parents can no longer provide…

This qualitative study examines the support needs of adult siblings of people with developmental disabilities. A survey completed by 139 siblings of people with developmental disabilities captured the needs of adult siblings through 2 open-ended questions. A grounded theory approach was used, and the sibling responses anchored the analysis,…

This study examined factors influencing involvement of siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities in future planning and their expectation of future caregiving. The sample consisted of 139 adult siblings recruited from an online sibling list and a sibling conference. Results indicated that few families made plans or involved siblings…