Siblings of people with disabilities often encounter unique challenges throughout their lifespan but their concerns are not always heard or acknowledged. In this week’s episode of IDD: Get to Know Me, Helen Ries, the founder of The Sibling Collaborative, joins us to share her journey as a sibling to someone with IDD and what drove her to develop The Sibling Collaborative.

The Sibling Collaborative is a national organization that supports people who are siblings to someone with a disability, engaging with over 500 siblings from across Canada. The idea for the Collaborative emerged from Helen’s experience of becoming a caregiver for her sibling and the lack of support and information available to her. The Sibling Collaborative strives to support siblings who are going through similar experiences by providing connection, resources and research. Most recently, it has started to host virtual meetups to support siblings during the COVID pandemic.

The Sibling Collaborative has worked with the Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre at CAMH to study these special relationships. Recently the Azrieli Centre published a report The Experiences of Siblings of People with IDD during the COVID-19 Pandemic with support from The Sibling Collaborative.

In this episode you will hear whether Helen would rather be the smartest or funniest person in the room (spoiler alert: she says neither!), her experiences as a sibling to someone with a disability, and what led her to start The Sibling Collaborative.

To learn more about The Sibling Collaborative and how to get involved, visit their website or join their mailing list. You can also follow The Sibling Collaborative on Twitter and Facebook @SibCollab!

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Have topic ideas or feedback you’d like us to hear? Send us an email at Katie.Cardiff@camh.ca.