Abstract
Having a brother or sister with special health needs not only impacts parents but siblings as well. Support available for these siblings has been found to be limited in the literature. One particular program designed to provide support to these children is a program called Sibshops. This study completed a program evaluation of Sibshops conducted at a Midwest Children’s hospital between 2011- 2012 in order to assess the effectiveness of this program. Qualitative and quantitative data were obtained using parent feedback surveys. Results from the surveys showed that parents felt Sibshops provided their children with a positive experience, allowed them a sense of feeling they were not alone, caused positive attitude changes, increased their child’s knowledge about their brother or sister’s disability, and allowed for their healthy children to feel recognized in a special way. Additionally, the data also suggested that the five goals in the Sibshop curriculum were being met. While this study would suggest that Sibshops may be effective in providing support to siblings, further research including direct feedback from the children themselves may be beneficial in allowing social workers as well as other professionals working with siblings additional knowledge and insight into the benefits and challenges of having a brother or sister with special health needs.