Introduction
Autism Spectrum disorder is characterized by developmental incapacities resulting from brain differences. The condition is marked by communication and social interactions and repetitive or restricted interests and behaviors. A child with this developmental condition avoids making eye contact, is unresponsive to names at nine years, is unable to play simple games appropriate for their age, exhibits echolalia, is obsessed with some interests, and quickly gets upset when things are not arranged as they wish (Lord et al., 2018). These children also demonstrate delayed learning, language, and movement skills.
Specialized care is required in handling children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. A sibling relationship is crucial in playing a developmental role in autistic children. However, the siblings of children with autism are faced with the challenge of accepting and dealing with their sibling who has autism. Therefore, investigating the impacts that autistic children have on their siblings is vital in providing holistic care for the affected families. Additionally, studying the social outcome of siblings of autistic children is essential in identifying approaches to assist them. There is still a research vacuum on children’s experiences and communication skills with autism. This paper will detail how the social skills of siblings of autistic children are affected.
Literature Review
The following literature review will give information on the social skills of siblings of autistic children. A retrospective data collection method was deployed in Esther et al. (2019) study on having siblings is associated with better social functioning in Autism Spectrum Disorder. The study used The study included 112 children with autism, with 15 females and 99 males, and 56 children with siblings of autistic children. Standardized tests such as Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-Social effect and Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised Regression were used as each child underwent a comprehensive assessment. The study results revealed that older siblings of autistic children influenced them to have less severe deficits in social effects.
Additionally, these siblings were reported to have less severe non-communication incapacities. There was no significant difference between the older siblings and the younger siblings. The study concluded that siblings of a child with autism positively impacted their social communication. Therefore, having siblings is helpful to the child with autism; it improves their interactions and communication skills.
Family support is crucial in assisting autistic children to cope with their condition. Another study was conducted by Chase & McGill (2019) on the siblings’ perspectives and experiences of having a sibling with a learning disability and behavior described as challenging. The interview data collection method was used on six adult siblings of autistic children. The siblings from the study reported that having autistic children had multiple changes in their lives. These changes ranged from personal characteristics, family dynamics, and career choices. These siblings also reported inadequate support from their families in this study. Although society viewed them as just siblings, they were also said to be the invisible carers of autistic children. The study concluded that it is crucial to support families with autistic children and other developmental disabilities.
Siblings actively care for the well-being of an autistic child. A study investigated if a sister with a broader autism phenotype received support from their siblings. Of the young adults who participated in the study, 866 were, with the majority being female. The study’s findings revealed that the young adults provided more practical and emotional support to siblings that they perceived to have broad autism phenotype characteristics (Jensen & Orsmond, 2019). The study concluded that children with autism are at the advantage of receiving more care from their siblings than other siblings.
Autistic children may negatively affect the behavioral and psychological domain of their siblings. According to a study by Venturella et al. (2019), on the psychoanalytical perspective on the co-therapy relationship with a group of siblings of autistic children, it was found that the behavior and psychology of these siblings were affected. Programs have been made available for siblings of autistic children to help them gain social skills as the condition may result in the adverse emergence of emotions in these siblings. Society perceives the siblings as understanding and responsible without analyzing their coping mechanisms.
Co-therapy in the study aimed to help these siblings freely express their thoughts and feelings toward their role in caring for autistic children. Some of them reported feelings of anger and guilt because their siblings received special treatment from school and their parents. The use of co-therapy is essential in helping these siblings cope with their situation. Co-therapy uses two therapists who integrate their knowledge, making the therapy session more efficient (Venturella et al., 2019). The research concluded that co-therapy is a preventative measure for a group of children with the same problem.
Emotional and social problems are likely to be experienced by siblings of children with autism. According to Wright (2018), siblings experience social difficulties, depression, and anxiety in dealing with their autistic siblings. The research used a secondary method in analyzing 69 analyses with 6,679 children with autistic siblings and a sample of controls. The secondary research methodology included abstracts, research posters, and an unpublished thesis. The study’s findings revealed that these siblings are likely to have poor social skills compared to other siblings without developmental conditions. The social and emotional well-being of these children was also affected by the study (Wright, 2018). However, outward behavior patterns such as aggression were not more than siblings of children without autism. The study concluded that these siblings were at risk of developing secondary traits or conditions associated with autism.
Research Questions
- Are there communication skills challenges in siblings of children with autism compared to other siblings of children of siblings without autism?
- Do children with autism get support from their siblings?
- What is the outcome of the well-being of autistic children who their siblings support?
- What interventions can be done to help siblings of autistic children?
Hypothesis
The hypothesis can be grouped into two, that is null and alternative hypotheses. The null hypothesis for this research proposal is that siblings of autistic children are more likely to have poor social skills than siblings of children without autism (Wright, 2018). The alternative hypothesis will be that siblings of autistic children are less likely to have poor social skills than siblings of children without the condition.
Methods
Sample and Procedure
This research will deploy a qualitative research method exploring the siblings of autistic children’s experiences and communication skills. A purposive sampling method and snowballing will be employed in identifying the siblings of autistic children. Eighteen participants will be included in the study, with ten being siblings of autistic children, three being autistic children, and the rest will be siblings of children without the condition. The last cohort will act as the control for the research.
Therapists and schools that have worked with children with autism will help identify families with this condition. After seeking consent and having a letter of ethical approval to conduct the research, this will be done. The parents of these children will then be contacted, and participants will be recruited when consent is given. The eligibility criteria will be children with autism and their siblings and siblings of children without the condition. Interviews will then be conducted to study their experiences with autistic children. Group discussions consisting of two cohorts will also be used to assess their social skills.
Analysis
A cross-case analysis will examine each sibling’s experiences and social skills. The responses from the interview will be coded to identify similar themes, and a comparative analysis of all participants will be done. The comparative method will help compare, refine, delete, and expand categories. NVivo software program will then be used in organizing the data and themes identified. Information obtained will then be disseminated to parents and relevant authorities.
Ethical Considerations
Informed consent will be obtained from the parents of the children participating in the study. The names of the participants will not be revealed to maintain privacy. Ethical approval will be sought from the school and relevant boards. The children who participate in the study will do so voluntarily and with consent. Ethical values of fairness and not harm will be observed.
Discussion
The results of this study will be compared to studies done in the literature review. One of the expected results is identified challenges of siblings of autistic children. The literature review identified some challenges such as social skills, depression, anxiety, and emotional problems. When asked about the support system offered to children with autism, the expected response will be support from siblings, parents, school, therapists, and support groups. The literature review has revealed that autistic children get help from their siblings, which has resulted in a negative impact on their children.
From the study, it will be expected that the autistic children receiving support have better communication and social skills outcomes as compared to the children without help. Additionally, these children will be expected to get more support from their parents and school compared to other siblings (Ben-Itzchak et al., 2019). This is according to the literature review those autistic children who have support are more likely to have improved well-being. Studies in the literature review have also identified that siblings of autistic children sometimes feel left out when the other child with the condition receives more support. Furthermore, findings from the literature review have shown a positive impact of therapy on siblings of autistic children.
Conclusion
This study will investigate the likelihood of autistic children affecting the communication skills of siblings. The purposive sampling method and snowballing will be used to access participants. A comparative cross-study will be deployed to analyze the data, then coded. Ethical standards will be considered to avoid harming the participants in any way. The expected results are that siblings of autistic children are more likely to have poor social outcomes. Those autistic children receive support from siblings, parents, school, and therapists, which helps them have better results.
Limitations
Some of the study’s anticipated limitations are failure to establish the cause-effect relationship because of cross-sectional studies. However, validity will be ensured by using maximum participants in the qualitative method. The siblings’ associations may be limited because interviewing each sibling only once. In addition, the nature of the participants, who are children, may limit the generalizability of the study as they also come from different backgrounds and lifestyles.
References
Ben-Itzchak, E., Nachshon, N., & Zachor, D. A. (2019). Having siblings is associated with better social functioning in autism spectrum disorder.Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 47(5), 921–931. Web.
Chase, J. and McGill, P. (2019), “The sibling’s perspective: experiences of having a sibling with a learning disability and behavior described as challenging,” Tizard Learning Disability Review, Vol. 24 No. 3, pp. 138-146.
Jensen, A. C., & Orsmond, G. I. (2019). The sisters’ advantage? Broader autism phenotype characteristics and young adults’ sibling support. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49(10), 4256–4267.
Lord, C., Elsabbagh, M., Baird, G., & Veenstra-Vanderweele, J. (2018). Autism spectrum disorder.The Lancet, 392(10146), 508-520. Web.
Venturella, M., Carbonell, X., Cabré, V., & Arias-Pujol, E. (2019). A psychoanalytical perspective on the co-therapeutic relationship with a group of siblings of children with autism: An observational study of communicative behavior patterns.Frontiers in psychology, 10, 1832. Web.
Wright, J. (2018). Siblings of children with autism have social and emotional problems. Spectrum.