'They look right through us': Explaining the term 'glass child'
The term "glass child" doesn't resonate with everyone who has a sibling living with a chronic illness, mental illness or disability, but this is what it means.
Samantha Hellams, who has an intellectually disabled sister and is chair of Siblings Australia, has come to understand how her childhood was different from her peers due to her family's focus on her sister. The term "glass child" describes her experience, which has been popularised by Alicia Meneses Maples after her TEDx talk in 2010.
The term refers to a person with a high-needs sibling and experiences trauma and neglect due to their parents' extensive care for the sibling. Marianne Webb, a senior research fellow at Orygen, acknowledges that while the term reflects some experiences of young carers, she does not use it herself. The term emphasizes the invisibility and overlooked needs of siblings in families with a disabled child.
Young carers often take on significant responsibility, experience mental health risks, and may have positive outcomes like increased empathy and personal growth. Dr. Webb emphasizes the need for better support for families with disabled children, including providing parents with knowledge, skills, and resources, and ensuring siblings can access support services.
Siblings often play a lifelong role in supporting disabled individuals, and society should recognize and support their role more.
Written by urgent.news from ABC News AU's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
