Nicole Hampton, the author of this post, and her sister Natalie are two incredible siblings! These high school students have recognized the power of connection through sharing stories, and they have created a unique opportunity for siblings to do just this. Here is more about Nicole, her family, and this remarkable opportunity.
Throughout my life, being the sibling of a brother with a disability has been a key component of my identity. It has defined my family’s interactions, our daily lives, and our view of the world. When I was younger, this life as a sibling was my normal, and I didn’t realize that it wasn’t normal for others. As I got older and made more friends who didn’t have siblings with disabilities, I began to realize just how unique my circumstances were. Luckily, I have a twin sister, so we navigated this journey together. We also participated in many organizations that allowed us to connect with other siblings of individuals with disabilities, and these connections were immensely important in helping us feel like we had people who understood what we were going through. When I had to cancel plans last minute because my brother had a medical emergency, it was nice to have someone in my life who could understand these complications that accompanied disabilities instead of being upset that I canceled. In more recent years since our brother passed away, these connections have continued to help my sister and I feel less alone as we are surrounded by people who can understand our emotions and loss. After growing up in such unique circumstances, it’s sometimes nice to hear that we’re not actually that unique and other people have gone through the same thing.
While my sister and I are lucky enough to be surrounded by this community of other siblings, we know that many other siblings haven’t had this, and they feel very alone and isolated. For that reason, we created Special Siblings Connect. Our mission is to support other siblings of individuals with disabilities, foster connections between them, and create awareness for them. Our first major project is an advice book from siblings for siblings. We are collecting advice, stories, and other thoughts from siblings of individuals with disabilities to compile and then donate to organizations, hospitals, etc. so siblings can read the book and realize they are not alone.
If you are the sibling of someone with a disability, you can share your story as a sibling on our website https://www.specialsiblingsconnect.org/join. If giving only a short quote, this will only take five minutes to fill out, though longer stories are also accepted and encouraged. If you know any other siblings or organizations who would be interested, please forward this information to them. The more siblings we can have contributing, the more siblings we can help support.
There’s a lot I’ve learned as a sibling. It’s made me the person I am today. Some of it I’m glad I learned by living through the experience, but other parts, I wish I could have had someone tell me when I was younger. This book we are creating is that advice and stories that both I and other siblings would have appreciated knowing when we were younger.