Who are glass children?

It is important to note that not all siblings of special needs children are glass children. Glass children are siblings of special needs children, whose parents, often unintentionally, deprive them of enough attention. The term “glass” does not refer to being fragile, but to transparency. Although a glass child’s special needs sibling may require more urgent attention, a glass child still needs to be acknowledged like any other child.

Families that have a special needs child have unusual lifestyles that are heavily impacted by that child’s needs. They may have to spend large amounts of time at a hospital, or put a lot of effort making sure that their kid stays safe. All of this is necessary for the wellbeing of a special needs child, but it detracts from the amount of time parents can spend on their other healthy children. They can’t spend quality time as a family together, or check in on their children as much. This can lead a glass child to attempt to solve their issues on their own, and be more hesitant to ask for help.

Glass children aren’t just indirectly impacted by their siblings in how much time and attention they get from their parents. Having a special needs child in the family adds a lot of chaos and variability to a family’s home life, because nobody knows when another issue or problem may present itself. Glass children all experience different things, but a lot of what they go through depends on the behavior and condition of their special needs sibling.