Through the Glass
- storybyteskendall
- May 22
- 4 min read
Updated: Jun 17
By: Maria Victoria Almarza, Halee Provost, Valerie Williams
Multimedia
May 22, 2026
MIAMI – Julia Rodriguez was only beginning first grade when school staff began pulling her out of class. Not because she was in trouble, but because she had to calm her younger brother down. Lucas, who has autism, was struggling in school and when he became overwhelmed, the school turned to Rodriguez for help.
“Every time something would happen with him at school, his teachers would always pick me from class,” Rodriguez said. “We were only one year apart … I also didn't really know what to do.” Julia wasn’t a parent, therapist, or counselor, yet she often found herself taking on these roles. Years later, Rodriguez found a name for what she experienced: being a glass child.
The term glass child refers to a sibling of a child with a disability, chronic illness, or special needs whose needs are often overlooked as family attention shifts to the sibling with special needs. Estimates suggest that 7%-17% of children have siblings with chronic illnesses, like Julia. Yet, first-person narratives of glass children are lacking both in research and public conversation.
For Rodriguez, the emotional weight of growing up with Lucas extended beyond school hallways. As Lucas required more care from family and teachers, she found herself trying to be the “easy child.” Many glass children describe a similar experience. Their needs and struggles often become internalized in an effort to help their siblings.
Ashleigh Kong describes a similar experience. Her sister, Breanna, struggled with severe mental health issues that resulted in what Kong and her mother describe as outbursts. As a result, attention was centered on Breanna, which only seemed to make things worse. Kong shared that “at a certain point, as [Breanna] got older, she knew that the attention she wanted would be achieved by doing certain things and she would tend to have these outbursts to get that attention.” Sometimes her sister falsely claimed to have suicidal thoughts or to physically harm herself. Breanna even called the police on herself on multiple occasions so she would get checked and, according to Ashleigh, “have everyone’s attention.”
As a result of her sister’s behavior and the impact it had on the family’s dynamics, Kong felt both emotionally neglected and pressured to be a source of joy and pride. She excelled academically, hoping her achievements brought light to her family, but even her success was minimized. Her mother describes her as a gifted child. “We did not expect anything less of Ashleigh because we already knew it comes naturally.”
(Courtesy of Ashleigh Kong)
Glass children experience a variety of challenges including but not limited to identity, acceptance of emotions, parentification, premature-maturity, mental health challenges and perfectionism/overachievement. The question becomes impossible to ignore: how do parents in these families balance overwhelming caregiving demands without unintentionally overlooking another child?
In a society where disabled individuals are marginalized, the answer becomes even harder to find. From the moment they are born, the parents of children who suffer from disabilities, chronic illnesses, or special needs have to navigate a world that is not always accessible for their children or family.
The challenges glass children face do not exist in isolation. Many families raising children with disabilities must navigate systems that were not designed with them in mind. Ableism in pediatric care is a pertinent issue. According to a 2026 study by Church et al., this is “evident in its language, education, research, care practices, and systems of care.” The study continues by explaining that the presence of ableism “splinters the fundamental principles of variability and individuality, perpetuating a bias that humans can be easily categorised... These biases shape the future, hindering opportunities for optimized health care, education, and adaptive skills.” Systemic ableism exists outside of healthcare, it follows families in education, city infrastructure, and burdens their daily lives.
An ableist society makes glass children inevitable. Most parents are aware of the impact having a disabled sibling has on their other children, 60% of parents with children who have special needs observed an elevated risk or negative impact on their non-disabled child.
Usually, however, our society’s failure to adequately meet the needs of the disabled leaves parents in a difficult situation most are not equipped to handle.
For glass children like Rodriguez, these complex situations can begin to be improved with acknowledgment. Many glass children are expected to quietly adapt to the needs of their siblings without receiving the same emotional attention themselves. Experts say recognizing the emotional experiences of siblings, encouraging open communication and ensuring responsibilities do not disproportionately fall onto children can help families better support glass children.
Even now, Rodriguez says she still struggles to separate her own needs from the instinct to care for others. Having a name for her experience, however, made her realize something important: glass children are never invisible, people just aren’t looking.
Comments