Since March 2020, the Latham Centers Outreach team has created opportunities for individuals with Prader-Willi syndrome and their families. Now, more than two years later, it has been incredible to see the success and growth of these groups. Today we highlight the Siblings Group.
The Siblings Group includes people of all ages who have siblings diagnosed with PWS; some attendees have siblings in their 50s in our Adult Program, while others have siblings who are teens in our Children’s Program. The group, facilitated on Zoom, encourages different perspectives and highlights one another’s experiences. This allows for opportunities to learn from one another as well as to relay similar stories.
Susan LaPlant, Siblings Group Coordinator and Latham Centers’ Admissions Officer, reflected on the April meeting:
Recently, a small group of Latham siblings was given the opportunity to watch a trailer about one family’s experience of life with a child diagnosed with Prader-Willi syndrome. With “The Life You’re Given” (a documentary in the last stages of completion), Jay Coggeshall and Susan
Henoch, parent, Filmmaker, and Producer in one are “hoping to travel widely with the film to share it with PWS families and general audiences.”
The trailer touched on the emotional aspect of the small group involved. One sibling said, “In every part of that film, I could picture my sister, brother, and parents sharing the same story.” Another sibling said, “I can relate to it more than you know.”
Moments like this are one of the many reasons why the Latham Centers Admissions and Outreach team is delighted to offer virtual opportunities for our community to meet and gain insight from one another’s experiences. If you have a sibling with PWS and are interested in joining this group, please contact admissions@lathamcenters.org.
Also, stay tuned for more posts about the Siblings Group in the upcoming weeks!
~ Submitted by Katrina Kozak, Director of National Outreach
