‘I consider them to be extraordinary but not in a bad way’: Growing up with a sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

The aim of this study is to understand what it is like to grow up with a sibling with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) from the Typically Developing (TD) sibling’s own perspective and how they access and utilise knowledge of ASD. The data were gathered from semi-structured email interviews with seven 16-18-years-olds who have a sibling with ASD. Template Analysis (TA) was used from an interpretive phenomenologically informed stance to thematically analyse the data. The findings highlight the importance of social care funding for services such as Short Breaks and a need for meaningful public awareness of ASD. In terms of knowledge, some participants accessed knowledge of ASD from the Internet, listening to other people’s experiences and professionals and they utilised this knowledge to understand how ASD affects their sibling with ASD. Some participants spoke proudly of the distinct and unique ways that sets their sibling apart from other people, suggesting that it is possible for TD siblings to share a positive relationship with their sibling with ASD.