This is the result of one of the studies conducted by Margaret Beckman, Social Worker. Families assisted the Schonell Centre and helped with the research.
Many of you will recall visiting the Schonell Centre at the University of Queensland where your children participated in a research project. You will recall that your children were requested to play a specific game with another child, who was unknown to them and who was responsible for demonstrating the game.
First I would like to extend my sincere thanks for your participation. The study would not have been possible without your co-operation and the help received from the Spina Bifida Association. I realise your time is precious and I appreciate your willingness to visit the university on two occasions, particularly as the visits were usually on the weekend!
This research was for my Masters thesis and the specific question I asked was: Do children who have a disabled sibling relate with peers differently from children who do not have a disabled sibling? In order to examine this issue, I studied the social behaviour of brothers and sisters of children with Down syndrome towards children who have spina bifida and children who have no disability, as I was interested in whether the experience of growing up with a sibling who has Down syndrome has an impact on the relationships children have with peers outside the family unit. Two groups of children were studied, those whose sibling has Down syndrome and those whose siblings are non-disabled.
Children were first observed relating with their own sibling and then interacting with peers, who included children with spina bifida. I was interested in whether children would use similar patterns of social behaviour with children outside their family as they exhibited within their family.
The children were requested to demonstrate how to play a specific game to 1) their own sibling, 2) a child who has spina bifida and 3) a child who has no disability. Children with and without a disabled brother or sister were compared according to the social behaviour they displayed while playing the game.
The results indicated that the children whose sibling has Down syndrome behaved similarly towards all the children to whom they showed the game, irrespective of their 'status' (i.e. their own brother or sister, a child who has spina bifida, or a child with no disability).
In contrast, the children whose sibling is non-disabled directed different social behaviours towards their sibling and towards peers (i.e. both children with spina bifida and children with no disability). The children whose sibling has no disability varied their social behaviour according to the child to whom they were showing the game.
Of specific interest to readers who have a family member who has spina bifida will be the result that children who have spina bifida were treated similarly by both teaching groups. They received more prosocial and teaching behaviour than did non-disabled peers from children whose sibling has Down syndrome and children whose sibling has no disability. While the children who were requested to demonstrate the game may have demonstrated similar or different social behaviour towards their sibling and peers, they demonstrated however, similar social behaviour towards children who have spina bifida.
This research was supervised by Dr. Alan Hayes, whom you probably met at the Schonell Centre, as he did most of the video recording. This thesis did not set out to study specifically children who have spina bifida, however, I hope the results I have found are of interest, and I thank you again for helping my project.
|