Realizing the College Dream with Autism or Asperger Syndrome. Ann Palmer

enough without adding that piece to the puzzle. As it turned out, my daughter handled it really well. There were times when new friends at school would ask her about her brother and she would explain that he had autism. She didn’t bring up her autistic brother to many people as a topic of conversation but she was also not afraid to answer their questions or correct them if they made comments that were not correct.

      I think parents need to be proactive and try to prevent possible difficult situations from occurring for the sibling. It is easy to forget sometimes that the sibling may be feeling accepting and proud of their brother or sister with a disability but at the same time may also be embarrassed or uncomfortable when having to explain to their peers about their differences. At the beginning of the first year Eric and my daughter were at the high school together, the bus they rode home from school was very late arriving at the high school every afternoon. The students had to wait at the school for at least a half an hour for the bus to arrive. I knew what Eric would be doing while he was waiting for the bus. He would be walking back and forth, maybe quietly talking to himself, and maybe flicking his fingers near his face. It doesn’t bother people, it isn’t disruptive in any way, but I knew it could cause some stares or comments from the other students. I thought that would be difficult for my daughter to have to deal with during her first weeks of high school when she was trying to adjust and find new friends. I changed my work schedule and arranged to pick them up at school each afternoon until the buses became more predictable. Parents can try to think ahead and prevent uncomfortable situations for the siblings.