Online symposium held for siblings of people with disabilities in Japan

Written with extracts translated from NHK

November 14 2020

A symposium was held to think about the worries of siblings of people with disabilities, sharing experiences about how parents tended to be interested in children with disabilities and their siblings feel alienated, as well as the difficulty of supporting their families.

The symposium was held online and was attended by more than 1,500 people, including children with disabilities and parents.

In this session, participants talked about their experiences, and Kyoko Mochida, who is the representative of a group made up of people who care for her family and has an older brother with Down Syndrome, said, “When I was a child, I could be teased. There were so many that I didn’t want to know about my brother. My family was a brother-centered life and I felt like I was alienated. “

In addition, Nozomi Yamashita, a social worker who has an older sister with intellectual disabilities, said, “It is difficult to solve the family problems of people with disabilities only at home, so that people involved in school, government, and welfare can reach out. I want you to do it. “

It was pointed out that siblings of people with disabilities tend to be concerned about children with disabilities and feel lonely, and in many cases they have peculiar worries such as how to support their families.