Mother-sibling interactions and children with communication disabilities

Background: This pilot study aims to describe the patterns of behav-iour in interactions between children with communication disabili-ties, their mothers, and siblings.Method: The study was a mixed study design. Three families of children with communication disabilities participated in the study. Maternal baseline questionnaires, sibling interviews and observa-tions were carried out. In addition, children were video- recorded interacting with their mother and siblings. These observations took place within the home environment using preferred activities. Elements of video interaction guidance were used to code the data.Results: A responsive communicative style was evident across dyads and triads within and across mothers and siblings with evidence of emotional responsivity and attunement. Mothers and siblings pre-sent with a range of behaviours which were in synchrony both with the mother’s and child’s responsivity and their emotional capacity to respond to each other.Conclusions: The results of this pilot study suggest that a responsive communication style is predominant in mother- child- sibling interac-tions where a child has a communication disability. Limitations and implications for further research were discussed