Sibling-Implemented Intervention for Skill Development With Children With Disabilities

Abstract

The research synthesis presented here reviewed the currently available evidence on the effectiveness of sibling-implemented interventions for their siblings with disabilities. The search for appropriate research literature spanned from 1975 to 2008 and resulted in a total of eight studies that met the inclusion criteria. All eight studies in this synthesis employed single-case design as the primary research methodology. The analysis of the eight studies is summarized into (a) experimental design and participants, (b) intervention features, (c) measurement procedures, and (d) findings. Taken together, the outcomes of this research synthesis provide support for the effectiveness of sibling-implemented intervention for children with disabilities. Furthermore, implications for further research are discussed including taking into account specific siblings’ characteristics (e.g., socialization, intellectual ability) and ensuring that future studies sufficiently address generalization and maintenance of intervention effect and collect rigorous data on implementation fidelity.