Siblings of Individuals with Disabilities who Enter Careers in the Disability Field

Abstract

Siblings of individuals with disabilities are a unique group in disability-related careers. This group of professionals has been minimally explored in research. The researcher utilized qualitative methodology to explore perceptions of siblings with respect to their career and familial experiences in the disability field. Findings indicated that siblings entered the field for various reasons. Siblings shared positive and negative experiences from the disability field from both family life and career involvement. Siblings also provided information about the impact of their career on the role as a sibling. Finally, discussion and implications for practice and research are included.