Sibshops
What are Sibshops?
Having to put up with a brother or sister can be one of the most frustrating and annoying aspects of childhood. It can also lead to one of the most rewarding and influential relationships of our entire lives. Does that change if your brother or sister has a disability?
Sibshops are opportunities for brothers and sisters of children with disabilities and special health care needs to obtain peer support and education within a recreational context. The workshops are lively, pedal-to-the-metal celebrations of the many contributions made by brothers and sisters. Sibshops acknowledge that being the brother or sister of a person with special needs is for some, a good thing, for others a not-so-good thing, and for many, somewhere in between.
The Goals of Oklahoma Sibshops
Goal 1: Sibshops will provide brothers and sisters of children with special needs an opportunity to meet other siblings in a relaxed, recreational setting.
Goal 2: Sibshops will provide brothers and sisters with opportunities to discuss common joys and concerns with other siblings of children with special needs.
Goal 3: Sibshops will provide siblings with an opportunity to learn how others handle situations commonly experienced by siblings of children with special needs.
Goal 4: Sibshops will provide siblings with an opportunity to learn more about the implications of their sibling's special needs.
Goal 5: Sibshops will provide parents and other professionals with opportunities to learn more about the concerns and opportunities frequently experienced by brothers and sisters of people with special needs.
Meetings
Tulsa: For information contact Lora Roberts at (918) 227-1797 or visit www.oklahomafamilynetwork.org.
Oklahoma City: For information, please contact Sandra Kirkpatrick at sibshops@dsaco.org or (405) 691-2928 or visit www.dsaco.org. Para español, Lupe Cerbu en (405) 262-6952 or kzue@aol.com.
Enid: For information, please contact Sarah Reneski at sibshopenid@yahoo.com or (580) 234-8880 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Guymon: For information, please contact Monica Ronne at monica.ronne.@ptsi.net or (580) 380-5383 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Stroud: For information, please contact Becky Delaware at baedelaware@yahoo.com or (918) 290-9919 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Muskogee: For information, please contact Abby Durant at abby.durant@creoks.org or (918) 408-4361 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Norman: For information, please contact Kerri Brooks at Normansibshops@gmail.com or (405) 249-1925 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
TAFB: For information, please contact Diana Neal at diana.neal@tinker.af.mil or (405) 734-2274 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Piedmont: For information, please contact Sherri Kimber at thekinbers@sbcglobal.net or (405) 373-4199 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Fort Sill-Lawton: For information, please contact April Plumley at april.plumley@us.army.mil or (580) 442-3393 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Edmond: For information, please contact LaShelle Stanley at anlstanley@hotmail.com or (405) 471-4679 or visit www.oumedicine.com/sibshops.
Other communities: For information about starting Sibshops in your community contact Lori Wathen, Sibshops Coordinator with the Child Study Center at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She can be reached by email at lori-wathen@ouhsc.edu or by phone at (405) 271-5700 ext 45180.
This project is funded through collaboration with the Oklahoma Developmental Disabilities Council.