The Texas Sibling Network strengthens and builds skills through education, community, and advocacy to support all family members.

The Texas Sibling Network (TSN) creates a community for adult siblings of people with disabilities by adult siblings of people with disabilities. The Network provides support, resources, leadership, and advocacy skill building opportunities for siblings. It is recognized that siblings have very different experiences and visions and aim to provide a community to welcome and honor those experiences.

The Texas Sibling Network is housed at Texas Center for Disability Studies (TCDS) as the state chapter of the national Sibling Leadership Network, There are currently chapters in Austin, Houston, Lubbock, DFW, and Permian Basin with plans to expand and create multiple chapters across Texas to represent every community. The long-term vision is local chapters throughout Texas, on college and university campuses, to provide a hub of information for siblings.

The San Antonio Chapter will cover the greater San Antonio area and we will meet at 8 pm on Zoom though that is subject to change as we add in person meetings and social events! This meeting will be a chance for us to get to know one another, discuss what types of meetings our group would like to have (educational lectures and potential topics and/or social events such as mixers), as well as some options for best times to meet.

We all know having a sibling with special needs presents its own benefits and challenges but I truly believe we are all better people for it. Come share your triumphs and travails with people uniquely qualified to understand what you've been through, the journey you are on and where you hope it will lead you.

The Texas Sibling Network strengthens and builds skills through education, community, and advocacy to support all family members.

The Texas Sibling Network (TSN) creates a community for adult siblings of people with disabilities by adult siblings of people with disabilities. The Network provides support, resources, leadership, and advocacy skill building opportunities for siblings. It is recognized that siblings have very different experiences and visions and aim to provide a community to welcome and honor those experiences.

The Texas Sibling Network is housed at Texas Center for Disability Studies (TCDS) as the state chapter of the national Sibling Leadership Network, There are currently chapters in Austin, Houston, Lubbock, DFW, and Permian Basin with plans to expand and create multiple chapters across Texas to represent every community. The long-term vision is local chapters throughout Texas, on college and university campuses, to provide a hub of information for siblings.

The San Antonio Chapter will cover the greater San Antonio area and we will meet at 8 pm on Zoom though that is subject to change as we add in person meetings and social events! This meeting will be a chance for us to get to know one another, discuss what types of meetings our group would like to have (educational lectures and potential topics and/or social events such as mixers), as well as some options for best times to meet.

We all know having a sibling with special needs presents its own benefits and challenges but I truly believe we are all better people for it. Come share your triumphs and travails with people uniquely qualified to understand what you've been through, the journey you are on and where you hope it will lead you.

Children with brothers or sisters who have special needs have particular challenges. It can be difficult for parents who need to give a lot of support to the child with the special need to balance the needs of the family. Dr Dorothy Armstrong will host an evening that is aimed at parents, teachers and those who work with children with siblings with special needs. Topics covered will include:

• The challenges and strengths of the sibling of a child with special needs
• Signs and signals that a sibling is having difficulties of concern
• Ways to support siblings of children with special needs
• Balancing the needs of the family, including the needs of the parents

Please join our virtual sibling meetups for facilitated conversations to share our experiences, learn from each other and gain new perspectives about our sibling journey.

Many adult siblings of people with disabilities have found their sibling relationship, including any responsibilities, has changed. As a result, our worries and emotions have also changed. We may be experiencing more anxiousness and guilt when we can’t visit with our sibling in the same way we once did, we may have new worries about future planning and we may have considerable stress from increased caregiving responsibilities.

Virtual meetups provide social, emotional and practical peer support for siblings.

These meetups are small with up to 8 participants per meet up and they are free. We welcome all adults who identify as having a sibling with a disability.

If your greatest fear is "who will take care of the person I love when I'm gone?" then you are NOT alone. If you've decided that the solution is to never die, you're also not alone - but that's not a solution. You may have heard the term "Circle of Support" floating around, but you're not sure what it means, you've rejected the idea as impossible or you're just not ready to hear it. This workshop will be emotional. It will be full of difficult conversation. Your heart and your mind will be challenged. Then, together, we will find a pathway and leave armed with the tools we need to create the most important gift we will ever give the person we love.

Who it's for:

Parents, adult siblings, caregivers, family members of people with disabilities. It will be most beneficial to those caring for adults over 22.

Cost: $55

Your presenter:

Cheryl Ryan Chan is, first and foremost, Mom to Nicky – a 26 year-old man severely impacted by autism and intellectual disabilities. Cheryl has spent over 20 years in Massachusetts, integrating her son and family into the disability community and becoming a well-known leader in community organization, legislative activism, mentoring and public speaking. She has served on Boards for a number of nonprofit human service providers, mental health providers, and Support Centers. Her work as a Person-Centered Planning Practitioner began in 2010 and has become her greatest passion. Cheryl has traveled to present, train and provide planning services in California Wisconsin, Maryland, and across New England.

The sibling relationship is critical not only in childhood but throughout the lifespan.  Siblings are often are first and longest lasting relationships.  In this training we will discuss the unique relationship between siblings, strategies for explaining an ASD diagnosis to your other children, common reactions of siblings to a diability as well as a variety of other topics related to the sibling relationship. This training will take place through Zoom.  We hope to see you there!

Sibshops is a much-needed program for brothers and sisters of children with special needs.

About this Event

The goal of Sibshops is to address the needs of siblings by allowing them to share, play and learn with other children through age-appropriate fun activities. We try to provide a safe, nurturing environment and a therapeutic component. Here, brothers and sisters meet other brothers and sisters of children with special needs. They have fun making crafts and playing games. They talk about their experiences with their peers who know what it’s really like to have a sibling with a disability. Children are in a safe, nurturing environment, with a therapeutic component at the session.

Hear what Laura Beth DeHority, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) who shares facilitation for the program, shares about Sibshops.