When a Sibling Has Autism: Narrative Review of Interventions for Typically Developing Siblings

Karishma Godara; Vaibhav Patil; Nisha Phakey

doi:10.1177/02537176231176404

When a Sibling Has Autism: Narrative Review of Interventions for Typically Developing Siblings

Indian J Psychol Med. 2024 Mar;46(2):103-109. doi: 10.1177/02537176231176404. Epub 2023 Jul 14.

Authors

Karishma Godara¹, Vaibhav Patil², Nisha Phakey³

Affiliations

¹ National Drug-Dependence Treatment Centre and Dept. of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
² Dept. of Psychiatry & NDDTC, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.
³ Dept. of Clinical Psychology, Amity University, Punjab, India.

Abstract

Being a typically developing sibling to a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD-Sib) can be associated with several behavioral and mental health problems. With this understanding, researchers are beginning to focus on sibling-oriented interventions. This review seeks to evaluate the current literature on such interventions. We searched digital databases and identified eight relevant studies. The sample (n = 247) had an age range of 4-16 years. The outcomes were generally positive, with improvements in different facets of ASD-Sibs. Results differed due to varied intervention styles, outcome variables, methods, and samples. Our findings highlight the potential for improvement in ASD-Sib's knowledge of autism and their psychological functioning and hence call for further research with robust methods.

Keywords: Asperger’s syndrome; Autism spectrum disorder; sibling-oriented interventions; typically developing siblings.

Publication types

Review