In an era of rapid and continuous changes regarding ways in which individuals decide or are pressed to live their intimacy with others, little is known about how intimate relationships, love and care are taking place among siblings of people with disability. Research regarding issues of siblinghood and disability abounds on topics of stress, quality of life and the psychological impact that according to such studies disability has on families. However, the slow but growing interest on more personalise stories of siblings of people with disability poses a demand for deeply interrogate about the life arrangements siblings implement in order to ‘live and love’. This presentation aims at exploring forms of understanding love among siblings of people with disability living in the Netherlands. Qualitative methods were applied to collect information among selected participants and the main results show individuals struggling with the paradox of love at different levels: partners, siblings, parents, and children. Therefore, this presentation is an invitation to understand the logic existing behind daily life practices and experiences of siblings of people with disability in order to improve existing and future disability programmes and policies that aim at creating spaces of unity and diversity.
All disabilities
Family
General public, Professionals