28/10/2026
Autism from a sibling’s perspective. 📚
To Jools Abrams, Rob is just her little brother.
But at the age of four, Rob was diagnosed with autism and a learning disability. Growing up, family life revolved around routines, hospital appointments and holidays that were often challenging.
“My parents held things together in public while quietly exhausted,” said Jools.
“Dad was dancing with a Cindy doll and buying ice creams in an effort to bring Rob back from a meltdown. But for us, this was kind of normal and, through it all, humour held us together.”
Jools left home when Rob was eleven. Like many siblings, they drifted apart as she moved on with her own life and developed a career as a writer.
Rob has drawn on our support in Hertfordshire for the past 22 years. When Jools moved to the area a few years ago, the siblings began meeting regularly for walks, talking, laughing and looking back on their shared experiences.
Those walks helped them reconnect — and inspired Jools to write 'The Sibling.'
“The book is good and I have enjoyed reading it and remembering the things we did in the 70s and 80s,” said Rob.
For Jools, writing the book was “bittersweet and comforting, but necessary”.
“I am hoping the book will give the message to other siblings that they are not on their own and that there are other people with the shared experience of living their lives alongside a learning disabled sibling.”
“Most importantly, it celebrates having a learning disabled sibling. I am always there for him — and I always will be.”
📚 'The Sibling: A Sister’s Experience of Autism' is available from bookshops and online via Troubador and Gardners.
