Parental Substitutes

This Australian study examined the roles that siblings played in the lives of older people with intellectual disability and factors affecting this. The sample comprised 62 people aged 55 years and older who had intellectual disability and had lived with their parents until mid-adulthood. An extensive case-finding strategy ensured that people unknown to specialist services were included in the sample. In-depth interviews were conducted with a person with a close long term relationship with each subject service providers and 51 of the subjects. Nearly half the sample had a sibling who acted as their primary carer after the death of parents. However, in most cases this was not a permanent arrangement. In the longer term a majority of older people did have a sibling who took responsibility for their well-being and played strong advocacy, mediator and supervisory roles. Fulfillment of such roles was associated with a lifelong close relationship between siblings.