Charlie’s Brother is the story of Brian a.k.a. Charlie’s Brother. Brian feels frustrated because everything seems to be about Charlie his special-needs brother. He wishes Charlie could just be “normal”. Brian doesn’t think it’s fair for Charlie to have so many problems. Brian wishes his family could do things like real families do.
When the decision is made for Charlie to live in a Residential Center, Brian struggles to understand his confusing feelings. Is it my fault? Did I complain too much? Will the same thing happen to me? Brian is glad he is not Charlie - then he feels guilty about that.
With the help of his family, Brian learns to accept his feelings and to understand that it is all right for Charlie just to be himself. Brian discovers he is proud to be “Charlie’s Brother”.
“When a family has a child with a developmental or physical disability, or perhaps a debilitating or chronic disease, there are countless issues which surround their “normal” siblings. Charlie’s Brother aptly describes several of these issues…. However, despite the challenges, there are several effective approaches for helping siblings cope.” -Sasha J Mudlaff M.A.
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