Free Essay About Living With A Sibling With Asperger And ADHD

If you asked me about the kind of relationship I share with my siblings, you would get an account of a very uncommon relationship between two brothers. I have one brother, three years older than me. He is Russian and was adopted by my parents when he was eleven months old. Due to some unfortunate incidents in his early life, he suffered from Asperger syndrome and ADHD. Being diagnosed with it earlier in life, my parents were prepared with how to deal with him, but I, being the younger sibling found it difficult to adjust to him. Asperger syndrome is a mental condition in which an individual faces difficulty in dealing with changes, as well attention deficits and lack of control on one’s motor skills. As a child, I did not understand why he was so controlling and always got his own way with things. We would be just an incident away before an emotional storm from him. His conditions in early life made him an impulsive and rash child; quite hard to control. One time, he took a flying leap from the coach and landed on my leg. I got injured, and I could not walk so my parents rushed me to the emergency room, afraid that I might have dislocated my hip. Being a child, I was honestly frightened of my brother after this injury.
Ever since I can remember, my relationship with him has been unique, challenging and complex simultaneously. It was never peaceful with him, as per his condition, he could not react to anything calmly. However despite being chaotic, he was fun and interesting to be with and at times, it intrigued me to spend time with him. Sometimes I would ask my mom, ‘Can you control him?’ because he would not listen to me if I told him to keep it down or do anything as instructed. I felt like I was the older brother and I had to support and carry him through his life rather than it being the other way round.
My emotions experienced changes as well; the fright changes to jealousy because I felt left out when my parents showered their attention on him and not on me. I was three years younger than him, and I did not have a good understanding of my brother’s condition, so my parents needed to explain everything to me. However, time passed, and I grew up to understand that he was different, and he needed more care than I did. What I began to realize as I grew older, was that my brother was hardly to be blamed for what he was going through because he was suffering from it as well, perhaps he was most affected by it. It was our duty- his family’s, to support him, treat him with love and respect and provide him the space he needed. Not only did he learn how to get along in life from us, but we also learned a lot from him. He taught me never to give up, to accept others for who they are and to be more tolerant of other people.
Gradually, I learned how to deal with him. I realized he reacted well to my humor rather than my anger and frustration. I learned to empathize and understand his feelings and concerns. I began to understand that people face certain challenged in life, and they conquer them with resilience and take pride in their accomplishments. At a young age, my older brother taught me how to handle conflicts and difficult social situations. I also had to develop coping strategies as my parents expected me to do what he couldn’t- behave well and strive for academic excellence. These duties actually molded me into a stronger and more tolerant individual. It was difficult to form a brotherly bond with my brother, but I tool pride and felt happy in helping him through life.
Presently, he is doing well; he goes to college and has a fuller life. He has a hidden disability, and his life is more ‘normal’ now. At first, his mood swings were unpredictable, and it was hard to tell what he was going through. Today when I look at our photos together, I see that through all the pain and hardships we have faced together, I have probably experienced the best time with him. Developing a strong relationship with him is a challenge, and it will remain so in the future, but we both are willing and prepared to face them. He is a major part of my life and will remain so forever.