MIAMI - In the auditorium of Miami Children’s Hospital, 20 or more healthy 8- to 13-year-olds gather each month. It is for them a time of fun — games, crafts, lunch and special sharing.
Each is the sibling (or, perhaps, a cousin) of a child with a health or developmental need.
Paul Puleo’s sister has seizures. Emma Ritter’s brother has spina bifida. Karla Grullon’s brother has Down syndrome. Alejandra Avila’s brother has cerebral palsy. Grace Kightley, like most in the group, has an autistic brother.
These kids, the healthy ones, have unique issues that can be shared and understood in Sibshops, as the group is known.
These are the children “who feel left out because all the attention in the family is focused on the child with special needs,” says Regine Duret, a child life specialist.
They are, for the most part, mature for their age.
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