The Patron
My patron is an adult sibling of a person with a disability. She recently attended a conference at which
she became a trained facilitator for “Sibshops,” a support program for siblings of children with disabilities.
She is interested in journal articles authored by the creator and author of a guide on Sibshops, “Don
Meyer.”
Me: Is it just Don Meyer’s work that you are interested in?
Patron: No, I want to see what others are doing. And what the research says.
Me: Can you tell me what you mean by “what others are doing?”
Patron: Yes, with their Sibshops. Or other supports for kids whose sibs have disabilities. I’m working on
supports for adult children too, so the “kids” don’t have to be young.
Me: You mentioned research. Is there are particular aspect of the research that interests you or a way
that you plan to use it that you’d like me to keep in mind?
Patron: Just how [having a sibling with a disability] affects them, or things they have learned about people
whose siblings have disabilities.
Me: Okay. Anything else?
Patron: Maybe some resources for parents, things they can read or do to help the typically developing
kids and their sibs.
My patron is employed by a private university and has access to its libraries. She will most likely be able
to access anything I can access via online databases and Interlibrary Loan.
My search objectives are to locate and retrieve:
? Journal articles authored by “Don Meyer,” developer of “Sibshops
? Information about Sibshops and sibling supports in general
? Research-based publications on 1) sibling relationships among children with disabilities and
typically developing children and 2) the effects on typically developing children of having a sibling
with a disability
? Information for parents of children with disabilities about sibling issues
The DIALOG Search
I began by searching the DIALOG file for ERIC.
After logging on to ERIC (B1), I searched for the author “Don Meyer”: E AU= MEYER, D. I selected the
matches for Don and Donald E. (there was a Don E. which led me to believe that the “matching” Donald
might have the middle initial E):
Fortson 2
S1 20 AU='MEYER, D. E.' OR AU='MEYER, D. EUGENE' OR AU='MEYER,
DON' OR AU='MEYER, DON E.' OR AU='MEYER, DON E., ED.' OR
AU='MEYER, DONALD' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD E.'
I displayed the results (TYPE S1/2/ALL) and decided that the following records would be appropriate for
my patron:
Since I did not see the “Sibshops” publication my patron mentioned, I did a quick internet search to see
how the author’s name is listed on the publication. I found the book Sibshops: Workshops for Siblings of
Children With Special Needs on Amazon.com; its author is listed as Donald J. Meyer. I returned to the
expanded author list retrieved from E AU= MEYER, D. and selected the other matches for Don/Donald:
S2 12 AU='MEYER, DONALD H.' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD J.' OR AU='MEYER,
DONALD L.' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD P.'
I displayed the results (TYPE S2/2/ALL) and decided that the following records would be appropriate for
my patron:
I deduced that the author in question is Donald J. Meyer; the relevant publications I retrieved were
indexed as being authored by “Meyer, Donald” and “Meyer, Donald J.” I confirmed this with a Library of
Congress Name Authority search.
I then decided to construct a search using the ERIC thesaurus. I searched for records having descriptors
and identifiers related to disabilities:
S3 65876 (DISABILITIES OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES OR LEARNING
DISABILITIES OR MENTAL RETARDATION OR ASPERGER SYNDROME
OR AUTISM OR CEREBRAL PALSY OR DOWN SYNDROME)/DE,ID
Then for records having descriptors and identifiers related to siblings:
S4 3152 (SIBLING RELATIONSHIP OR SIBLINGS OR SISTERS OR BROTHERS)
Then for records having both:
S5 768 S3 AND S4
Conaway, Sally, and Meyer Donald. "Developing Support for Siblings of Young People with
Disabilities." Support for Learning 23 (2008): 113-17.
Meyer, Donald. "Siblings of Children with Special Health and Developmental Needs: Programs,
Services and Considerations. ARCH Factsheet Number 23." ARCH National Resource
Center for Crisis Nurseries and Respite Care Services (1993).
Meyer, Donald. "SIBSHOPS: A Handbook for Implementing Workshops for Siblings of Children
with Special Needs." Washington Univ., Seattle. Child Development and Mental
Retardation Center. (1985).
Fortson 3
I displayed the results (T S5/8/ALL) and decided that several of the records would be appropriate for my
patron; 20 are listed below (in reverse chronological order, the order in which they were retrieved):
Canary, Heather. "Negotiating D is/Ability in Families: Constructions and Contradictions ." Journal of
Applied Communication Research 36 (2008): 437-458.
Harris, Helen. “Meeting the Needs of Disabled Children and Their Families: Some Messages from the
Literature.” Child Care in Practice 14.4 (2008): 355-369.
Barr, Jacqueline, Sharynne McLeod, and Graham Daniel. “Siblings of Children with Speech
Impairment:
Cavalry on the Hill.” Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools 39.1 (2008): 21-32.
Degeneffe, Charles Edmund and Marjorie Olney. “Future Concerns of Adult Siblings of Persons with
Traumatic Brain Injury.” Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin 51.4 (2008): 240-250.
Mikami, Amori Yee and Linda J. Pfiffner. “Sibling Relationships among Children with ADHD.”
Journal of Attention Disorders 11.4 (2008): 482-492.
Orsmond, Gael. I and M.M. Seltzer. “Siblings of Individuals with Autism or Down Syndrome: Effects
on Adult Lives.” Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 51.9 (2007): 682-696.
Knox, Marie and Christine Bigby. “Moving towards Midlife Care as Negotiated Family Business:
Accounts of People with Intellectual Disabilities and Their Families "Just Getting along with
Their Lives Together.” International Journal of Disability, Development and Education 54.3
(207): 287-304.
McGraw, Lori A and Alexis J. Walker. “Meanings of Sisterhood and Developmental Disability:
Narratives from White Nondisabled Sisters.” Journal of Family Issues 28.4 (2007): 474-500.
McMahon, Caitlin R. and Elizabeth E. Malesa. “Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Have Merited Concerns about Their Later-Born Infants.” Research and Practice for Persons
With Severe Disabilities 32.2 (2007): 154-160.
Giallo, R. and S. Gavidia-Payne. “Child, Parent and Family Factors as Predictors of Adjustment for
Siblings of Children with a Disability.” Journal of Intellectual Disability Research 50.12 (2006):
937-948.
Rosee, Penelope and Monica Cuskelly. “Adjustment, Sibling Problems and Coping Strategies of
Brothers and Sisters of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder.” Journal of Intellectual and
Developmental Disability 31.2 (2006): 77-86.
Marks, Susan Unok, Amy Matson, and Lori Barraza. “The Impact of Siblings with Disabilities on Their
Brothers and Sisters Pursuing a Career in Special Education.” Research and Practice for
Persons with Severe Disabilities 30.4 (2005): 205-218.
Caro, Patricia and Jeffrey L. Derevensky. “An Exploratory Study Using the Sibling Interaction Scale:
Observing Interactions between Siblings with and without Disabilities.” Education and
Treatment of Children 20.4 (1997): 383-403.
Fortson 4
At this point I am pleased with what I have retrieved, but decide to search for two more terms: sibshop (as
articulated by my patron) and sibship, a term used to describe sibling relationships that appeared in the
results of my previous search.
S6 3 SIBSHOP?
I displayed the results (TYPE S6/2/ALL) and saw that two were included in my previous search results. I
decided that the third record would be appropriate for my patron:
Laman, Effie and Michael Shaughnessy.” An Interview with Don Meyer on Siblings of Individuals with
Disabilities.” Exceptional Parent 37.7 (2007): 42-46.
S7 25 SIBSHIP
I displayed the results (TYPE S7/8/ALL) and determined that none of the records met my patron’s needs.
Satisfied with what I had retrieved in ERIC, I turned to MEDLINE.
Liska, Victoria D.. “The Sibling: A Lifelong Journey of Care.” (1996)
Pieper, Betty. “Sisters and Brothers, Brothers and Sisters in the Family Affected by Traumatic
Brain Injury.” Albany: New York State Head Injury Association. (1991)
Mates, Thomas E. “Siblings of Autistic Children: Their Adjustment and Performance at Home
and in School.” Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 20.4 (1990): 545-553.
McHale, Susan M. et al. “Sibling Relationships and Adjustment in Children with Disabled and
Nondisabled Brothers and Sisters.” (1989)
Hanold, Eleanor Johnson. “The Forgotten Children--Siblings of the Handicapped: A Family
Systems Perspective.” (1989)
Ascione, Frank R. et al. “An Investigation of Four Dimensions of Siblings' Relationships of
Handicapped/Nonhandicapped Sibling Dyads: Phase 1. Final Report, September 30,
1987 through September 29, 1988.” Logan: Utah State Univ.(1988)
Sourkes, Barbara M. “Siblings of the Child with a Life-Threatening Illness.” Journal of Children
in Contemporary Society 19.3-4 (1987): 159-184.
Fortson 5
For help in selecting the database to be searched in addition to ERIC, I consulted the Dialog Database
Selection Guide (URL: http://support.dialog.com/techdocs/co018002mi_dlg_dbselguide.pdf). I ultimately
selected MEDLINE as my second database because a) the two journals on intellectual disabilities of
which I am aware are indexed in MEDLINE and b) it is a component of PubMed, a database that is
accessible to the person for whom I am searching.
In MEDLINE, I was especially interested in articles in journals published by the American Association of
Intellectual and Developmental Disability (AAIDD). The MEDLINE bluesheet told me that “Journal Names
are searchable as the full name and the abbreviated name, displayable as the full name.” Not knowing
the way the journal title is indexed in MEDLINE (especially since the journal name has changed over the
years), I consulted the NLM’s List of Serials Indexed for Online Users
(ftp://nlmpubs.nlm.nih.gov/online/journals/lsiweb.pdf). I found that the journals I am interested in are
indexed as: Ment Retard (Mental retardation) and Intellect Dev Disabil (Intellectual and developmental
disabilities).
I searched for terms related to siblings in articles in the journals in which I was interested:
S1 73560 (SIB? OR BROTHER? OR SISTER?)
S2 2498 JN= (MENT RETARD OR INTELLECT DEV DISABIL)
S3 20 S1 AND S2
I displayed the results (TYPE S3/5/ALL) and decided that the following records would be appropriate for
my patron:
Display Sets for ERIC:
S1 20 AU='MEYER, D. E.' OR AU='MEYER, D. EUGENE' OR AU='MEYER,
DON' OR AU='MEYER, DON E.' OR AU='MEYER, DON E., ED.' OR
AU='MEYER, DONALD' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD E.'
S2 12 AU='MEYER, DONALD H.' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD J.' OR AU='MEYER,
DONALD L.' OR AU='MEYER, DONALD P.'
S3 65876 (DISABILITIES OR DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES OR LEARNING
DISABILITIES OR MENTAL RETARDATION OR ASPERGER SYNDROME
OR AUTISM OR CEREBRAL PALSY OR DOWN SYNDROME)/DE,ID
S4 3152 (SIBLING RELATIONSHIP OR SIBLINGS OR SISTERS OR BROTHERS)
S5 768 S3 AND S4
S6 3 SIBSHOP?
S7 25 SIBSHIP
Fortson 6
Since my controlled vocabulary search in ERIC was so successful, I thought I would do the same in
MEDLINE. The bluesheet told me that “MEDLINE is indexed using NLM's controlled vocabulary, MeSH®
(Medical Subject Headings). An online thesaurus is available to aid in locating MeSH® descriptors.” I
consulted the thesaurus, then searched for records having descriptors and identifiers related to
disabilities:
S4 25144 DISABLED PERSONS/DE,ID
Then for records having descriptors and identifiers related to siblings:
S5 3134 SIBLINGS/DE,ID
Then for records having both:
S6 603 S4 AND S5
Due to the nature of the database, many of the records related to medical studies of children with
disabilities and their siblings; for example, “Leptin levels among prepubertal children with Down syndrome
compared with their siblings.” I did find a few that would be appropriate for my patron:
Flaton, Robin A. "Who would I be without Danny?" phenomenological case study of an adult sibling.”
Mental retardation 44.2 (2006): 135-144.
Dykens, Elisabeth M. “Happiness, well-being, and character strengths: outcomes for families and
Siblings of persons with mental retardation.” Mental retardation 43.5 (2005): 360-364.
Seltzer, Marsha Mailick, Jan S. Greenberg, Gael Orsmond, and Julie Lounds. “Life course studies of
siblings of individuals with developmental disabilities.” Mental retardation 43.5 (2005): 354-
359.
Stoneman, Zolinda. “Siblings of children with disabilities: research themes.” Mental retardation 43.5
(2005): 339-250.
Hodapp, Robert M., Laraine Masters Glidden, and Ann P. Kaiser. “Siblings of persons with disabilities:
toward a research agenda. Mental retardation 43.5 (2005): 334-338.
Krauss, M W, M M Seltzer, R Gordon, D H Friedman. “Binding ties: the roles of adult siblings of persons
with mental retardation. Mental retardation 34.2 (1996): 83-93.
Wilson, J, J Blacher, and B L Baker. Siblings of children with severe handicaps. Mental retardation 27.3
(1989): 167-173.
Cleveland, D W and N Miller. Attitudes and life commitments of older siblings of mentally retarded
adults: an exploratory study. Mental retardation 15.3 (1977): 38-41.
Giallo R and S Gavidia-Payne S. “Child, parent and family factors as predictors of adjustment for siblings
of children with a disability. Journal of intellectual disability research 50.12 (2006): 937-948.
Lobato, Debra J Brief report: family-based group intervention for young siblings of children with chronic
illness and developmental disability. Journal of pediatric psychology 30.8 (2005)
Fortson 7
At this point I felt as if I had exhausted MEDLINE’s offerings on the topic, but wanted to replicate the two
ERIC searches that used my patron’s language: Don Meyer and sibshops.
I initially entered the E AU=MEYER, D command, but did not retrieve any results. I deduced that author
names were indexed without commas in MEDLINE and retrieved records for AU=MEYER DONALD J
and AU=MEYER D J .
S7 4 AU='MEYER DONALD J'
S8 153 AU='MEYER D J'
None of the records I retrieved related to sibshops or siblings of children with disabilities; this did not
surprise me, as any relevant works by Don Meyer should have been retrieved in the other MEDLINE
searches. I then entered my sibshop search: S SIBSHOP? which retrieved one record.
S9 1 SIBSHOP?
I displayed the results (TYPE S9/3/ALL) and decided that it was relevant to my patron:
D'Arcy, Fiona, Jacinta Flynn, Yvonne McCarthy, Catherine O’Connor, and Edel Tierney. “Sibshops:
an evaluation of an interagency model.” Journal of intellectual disabilities 9.1 (2005: 43-57.
I concluded my MEDLINE search by entering the logoff command.
Display Sets for MEDLINE:
S1 73560 (SIB? OR BROTHER? OR SISTER?)
S2 2498 JN= (MENT RETARD OR INTELLECT DEV DISABIL)
S3 20 S1 AND S2
S4 25144 DISABLED PERSONS/DE,ID
S5 3134 SIBLINGS/DE,ID
S6 603 S4 AND S5
S7 4 AU='MEYER DONALD J'
S8 153 AU='MEYER D J'
S9 1 SIBSHOP?