younger siblings having older siblings with special needs

How do you talk to your younger child/ren about their older special needs sibling

I haven't crossed this bridge, but watching all the same. We will be in this position eventually. And actually you just inspired me to ask the other way around, because I need advice in that department. I hope you get some useful feedback.  

My cousin was just told by her mom that Tiffany was extra special and needed extra help and love.

Thanks me too because today my oldest son had a big meltdown and my youngest tried to calm him down and it wasn't working then he started crying because he just wanted to make his brother happy

We'll get more in depth with it later on, for now all my 7 year old knows is that her brother doesn't always understand things the way she does.

<blockquote><b>Quoting ♕¡RedHauté!♕:</b>" We'll get more in depth with it later on, for now all my 7 year old knows is that her brother doesn't always understand things the way she does."</blockquote>


How old is her brother

Man this is tough, my nephew is 10 months younger than jamil, he doesn't get it yet, once he thought he had to yell so jamil could hear him because he kept ignoring him....

Quoting skylair and noah's mommy:" <blockquote><b>Quoting ♕¡RedHauté!♕:</b>" We'll get more in depth with ... [snip!] ... old knows is that her brother doesn't always understand things the way she does."</blockquote> How old is her brother"

He's 9.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Jamils_ mommy:</b>" Man this is tough, my nephew is 10 months younger than jamil, he doesn't get it yet, once he thought he had to yell so jamil could hear him because he kept ignoring him...."</blockquote>

What did you tell him about

Quoting skylair and noah's mommy:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Jamils_ mommy:</b>" Man this is tough, my nephew is 10 months ... [snip!] ... he had to yell so jamil could hear him because he kept ignoring him...."</blockquote> What did you tell him about"

My husband had said sometimes Jamil can't understand or hear what your saying so you have to say it again, so he started just shouting it all the time and he said Uncle said he can't hear.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Jamils_ mommy:</b>" My husband had said sometimes Jamil can't understand or hear what your saying so you have to say it again, so he started just shouting it all the time and he said Uncle said he can't hear. "</blockquote>


Ah that isn't good I tried to explain to noah it wasn't anything you said or done sometimes brother just gets upset

I tell my daughter (3) about her brother (5) very frankly. I just say, he's autistic. Inside his head isn't the same as everybody else. As she asks questions, I answer them. Every time he has a meltdown and she complains, or asks questions, I say that's his autism. There's definitely no instructional manual for this one though! I just wanted to make sure there was an open dialogue about it as early as possible, so when she really started to understand, she was comfortable asking questions and had some basic knowledge of the issue. Just do whatever feels right for you I guess.

Quoting Phillygirl1183:" I tell my daughter (3) about her brother (5) very frankly. I just say, he's autistic. Inside his head ... [snip!] ... she was comfortable asking questions and had some basic knowledge of the issue. Just do whatever feels right for you I guess. "

thank you he does know that his brother is autistic but i wasn't sure how to talk to him about when he was trying to comfort his brother during a meltdown and then got sad because it wasn't working

I know I'm late on this one and the situation isn't an older sibling (and also a different disability). But my little sister (only 2 years younger) has Down Syndrome and what help me being closest age to her (our older siblings are 10 years older) was my mom always took me to early intervention with her and included me a lot in on her education process. It not only helped me be exposed to all different types of disabilities at a young age but also helped me understand more about her disability specifically so I knew how to interact and build a better relationship with her. Her and I are so close and have such a strong bond now.