Access Ministry Expands: Group offers support, connection to siblings of people with disabilities

Miracle Thele is 10 years old and loves arts and crafts, listening to music and hanging out with her friends. She is an older sister to her 8-year-old brother Carter, who likes to play video games, color and listen to mu- sic and who is on the autism spectrum. On Sundays, Carter attends Access Kids ministry at Lynnwood Baptist Church. While he’s there, Miracle’s parents, Leanne and Andy Thele, attend Access Parent Sunday School, where they connect with other parents who have children with disabilities.

As of August 2023, Miracle has her own class she attends: Access Sibs, a group for kids with siblings who have disabilities.

The group meets at the church four Saturdays a year. Each meeting has a theme; at the November meeting, participants talked about friendship. The group opens each meeting with an activity that encourages working together, then talks about a Bible story that reflects the theme and ends with a craft, such as making friendship bracelets.

Leanne Thele says it’s helpful to have leaders of the group who share similar experiences with her daughter. Miracle says she loves the class activities.

“Miracle has benefited from the Access Sibling group by having leaders that grew up with siblings with special needs, so they can understand her feelings and help her overcome the obstacles that she encounters,” Leanne Thele says.

The group began because Rachel Nation and Emily Toothman, who both have siblings with disabilities and were part of groups similar to Access Sibs when they were young- er, brought the idea to Andrea Roseman, founder of Access Ministry. Nation says she wanted to have a support group for siblings of people with disabilities like the one she’d experienced, to help siblings connect with others who share a similar experience.

Toothman agreed.

“Growing up, none of my friends had siblings with special needs, so they couldn’t understand what my family was like,” Toothman says. “I was lucky enough that there was a local group for siblings, so I got that support system I needed.”

Her goal for the group is to give the siblings the same kind of support system. Nation says siblings of people with disabilities have “a lot of unique experiences,” sometimes including “being lugged around to ... therapy services” and other necessary appointments for their siblings. She says siblings bear “the stares of other people ... in public.”

“A lot of times, I feel like the siblings are kind of the forgotten ones, because the child with a disability has the [services], and the parents are given resources and support groups,” Nation says. “[This is] nobody’s fault, it’s just the way of it, because there’s so much that [the parents are] having to deal with as a whole.” Toothman’s experience has been similar. “Being a sibling of a person with a special need comes with emotions and situations that not everybody understands,” Toothman says.

Nation says in addition to the challenges, being a sibling to a person with a disability can also have benefits. While helping a sibling with a disability, the sibling without a disability can begin to develop positive character traits like compassion, dependability, self-control, thoughtfulness and empathy.

Nation says she wants to help siblings of people with special needs formulate good perspectives, “so they don’t feel ostracized and really can feel validated with their opinions, know they’re not alone and that it’s OK to have some of the feelings [they’re] feeling.”

Through Access Sibs, Nation opens up the discussion for siblings to discover what they have in common. She also helps the siblings in the group to create long-lasting friendships.

Miracle Thele and her brother Carter Thele play together before the Access Sibs Group at Lynwood Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau. The group meets four times a year.Photo by India Hampton

“It’s really unique to have a sibling with a disability,” Nation says. “You face a lot more experiences than the average kid would have.”

The goal of Access Ministry, according to their website, is to ensure “everyone has a place to serve and belong.” With the addition of the Access Sibs group to the ministry, this mission now extends to those in families who haven’t yet been served by the organization.

“[The Access Ministry group is] there for each other, and they know that they’re not alone anymore,” Roseman says.

__Want to know more?__

Visit www.lynwood.church/access.