Too important to ignore: Siblings of children with special needs - Kate Strohm

Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health (AeJAMH), Volume 7, Issue 2, 2008
ISSN: 1446-7984
Guest Editorial

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Introduction
Over the last decade there has been an
increasing emphasis in Australia on the
prevention of mental health problems. It has
been accepted that the early years will have a
profound effect on a child’s longer term health
and development and that preventive
approaches need to focus on these years.
Governments have also started to see the
economic benefits of investing in the early
years. For example, it has been estimated that
the cost of each case of depression is
approximately $10,000 per annum (Sobocki,
Jonsson, Angst & Rehnberg, 2006). If we can
intervene early and reduce the incidence of such
cases, the savings at a population level can be
huge.
However, there is still much that could be done
in relation to preventive strategies. In fact, there
is some concern that the momentum gained in
the nineties may have been lost and that the
‘pendulum in mental health has swung back to
early intervention and treatment’ (Parham, 2008)
for problems that have already begun to develop.
Another concern is that some groups of ‘at risk’
children are being overlooked at a policy and
service level, in spite of much work being done
‘on the ground’ through the commitment of
individuals.
One such group is the brothers and sisters of
children with special needs, who can be at risk
for developing a number of mental health
problems. This editorial explores the mental
health issues for this group of children, the risk
and protective factors that influence adjustment,
and also the timing of intervention. It then
outlines Siblings Australia’s approaches to
addressing the needs of siblings, and the benefits
of this work. The editorial concludes by
discussing policy directions and the need for
greater recognition of this group of children,
both at government and community levels.
Siblings of children with special needs
There are over 200,000 young people under 25
years of age in Australia with a severe or
profound disability or chronic illness. It is
reasonable to assume that most of those young
people have at least one sibling (Australian
Bureau of Statistics, 1998).
Understandably, significant resources are spent
on addressing the needs of children with a
disability or chronic illness. However, research
and anecdotal evidence supports the view that
illness and disability affects the lives of all
family members. The special report, The
Wellbeing of Australians: Carer Health and
Wellbeing (Cummins, Hughes, Tomyn et al.,
2007), the largest ever survey into the health and
wellbeing of Australian carers, found that more
than one third of family carers in Australia are
severely depressed and/or stressed. In fact carers
have been found to have the lowest collective
wellbeing of any group yet identified. The
survey also showed that the presence of a person
in the household who requires care severely
compromises the wellbeing of other family
members, whether they have primary carer
responsibility or not.
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