The quality of the relationship between typically developing children and their siblings with and without intellectual disability: Insights from children's drawings.
Children picture their sibling bond more positively when their brother or sister has ID—use drawings as a fast, low-cost thermometer for family warmth.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Zaidman-Zait et al. (2020) asked kids to draw pictures of themselves with their brother or sister.
Some kids had a sibling with intellectual disability. Others had only neuro-typical siblings.
The researchers also gave short questionnaires to the children and their parents.
They wanted to see if the drawings would match what people said about the sibling bond.
What they found
Children with an ID sibling drew warmer, happier scenes than kids with only NT siblings.
The brighter drawings went hand-in-hand with higher scores on the sibling-relationship survey.
Kids who pictured the bond as good also showed better social-emotional adjustment at school and home.
How this fits with other research
The finding lines up with Moss et al. (2009): when siblings get along, the child with ID has fewer behavior problems and stronger social skills.
It also echoes Findler et al. (2009), who found that teens with an ID sibling report more personal growth than other teens.
But Heald et al. (2020) looks opposite: adults with an ID brother or sister report worse relationship quality and more depression.
The clash is about age. Kids and teens often feel pride and warmth. Adults may feel future-caregiver stress.
McQuaid et al. (2024) extends the story: early warmth predicts later prosocial gains for the child with ID, so capturing it young matters.
Why it matters
You can add a five-minute drawing task to your intake or review. Hand the child paper and crayons. Ask them to draw themselves with their sibling. Bright colors, shared activities, and big smiles can signal a strong bond. A dark, distant picture can prompt you to ask more questions and maybe build sibling-skills training into the plan. The tool is free, quick, and child-friendly.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study examined the relationships of typically developing (TD) children with siblings with and without intellectual disabilities (ID), as expressed in TD children's drawings and questionnaires answered by TD children and their mothers. It also examined group differences in the sibling relationships, as well as the associations between having a sibling with or without ID and sibling relationships, and TD children's social-emotional adjustment. Participants were mothers and their TD children (8-13 years). Some had ID siblings ID (N=28); others had TD siblings (N=31). Sibling relationships were examined via mothers' and target children's completion of questionnaires, and objective visual indicators (location, size, distance) and observed content-based indicators (support, investment, presence of parents) of children's drawings were assessed following the art-based phenomenological analytic approach. Mothers reported on children's social-emotional adjustment. Findings indicated differences in sibling relationships, including higher levels of positive relationships for children with ID siblings. Children's drawings also showed positive relationship aspects for these children. Sibling relationship qualities were significantly associated with children's adjustment. Children's drawings may be a useful data gathering tool to deepen our understanding of unique aspects of sibling relationships.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2020 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2019.103537