Born premature and unable to absorb nutrients, Joe’Von now has an appetite for life.
PHS knows that taking care of the child means supporting the whole family. Sibling Support will provide a safe place where a small group of 6 siblings of medically complex patients can process their thoughts, work through their feelings and express themselves.
Challenge: Mason’s sister has cerebral palsy and he gets jealous that she requires a lot of attention. Recently, Mason has been trying to gain attention by demonstrating increasingly bad behavior.
Solution: Mason’s parents saw a flyer about the sibling support program at PHS and thought it would be great for him to meet children in similar situations. They signed him up for the session.
Results: Mason developed friendships with kids in the program and learned that his peers have siblings who require extra attention just like him. Now instead of acting out, Mason can tell his parents when he’s frustrated.
Challenge: Kate’s new baby brother has SMA. Since coming home from the hospital she has helped with his cares, but started throwing temper tantrums at school – a behavior she never displayed before.
Solution: Kate’s mom is worried her daughter struggles with her brother’s constant medical needs but doesn’t know how to express it. She received a PHS newsletter about an upcoming sibling support group and signed Kate up for it.
Results: The sibling support program helped Kate explore feelings in a group setting with peers. Now she is able to better express herself at home and school, which has decreased the frequency of temper tantrums.
Challenge: Paul’s older brother has a medical condition and his health has been deteriorating. Paul has overheard conversations about his brother’s grim prognosis, and has been talking frequently about death.
Solution: Paul’s mom heard about the PHS sibling support program through a Facebook group and signed Paul up hoping he will benefit from interacting with peers who may have a sibling with a life-limiting condition.
Results: Through activities and conversation at the sessions, Paul has become more comfortable asking questions about his brother rather than not knowing what would happen or how to express his emotions.
Each session will vary slightly from the one before as the group gets to know one another better and the needs of each participant are identified. However, you can expect a combination of the following activities:
In addition to the child activities, the parents will meet in a separate room for the last 15 minutes of each session to discuss pertinent topics from the session and recommendations moving forward with the PHS Clinical Social Worker. This will enable parents to be active in this program with their child.
Because this is a therapeutic program, PHS will be submitting to insurance on behalf of the participating families.
If you prefer for this not to be processed through your insurance, we do have a private pay option that can be discussed with our Clinical Social Worker in the follow-up call.
In addition, PHS does not have a contract with Health Partners (but does from PMAP Health Partners), so private pay will be available for all families who carry this insurance.
To see if your child qualifies for Sibling Support or for more information please fill out the form below and our Clinical Social Worker will be in touch within one business day.
