Every sibling deserves to feel seen, supported and celebrated in the story of inclusion.

About Us

SideBySideSibs is a social enterprise creating simple, evidence-informed tools that help families of children with disabilities or chronic illnesses rebuild connection in everyday life.

We exist because inclusion begins within the family. When every child feels seen, supported, and celebrated, the whole family thrives.

In many homes, love is never missing. What is often missing is time, energy, and emotional space to connect with everyone. Parents give everything to meet one child’s needs, while another quietly learns to wait. We’re here to make sure no sibling feels invisible and no parent feels alone trying to balance care and connection.

Who We Support

We support families who are in the thick of raising children: parents balancing therapy schedules, big emotions, and the quiet needs that often go unseen.

Support for these siblings is rarely built into the system. Most programs start too late, cost too much, or focus only on the child receiving therapy. Yet siblings are deeply shaped by these early family experiences. Their sense of empathy, identity, and confidence grows when they feel included and understood at home.

Our focus is on those siblings: the ones who love deeply, help quietly, and sometimes feel forgotten in the daily rhythm of care. We also partner with hospitals, clinics, councils, and community organisations that want to make sibling wellbeing a visible and natural part of family-centered practice.

How It Helps

Our tools turn ordinary moments into opportunities for connection. From Family Conversation Decks and the 7-Day Connection Reset to upcoming Sibling Journals for Teens, every resource is designed to make inclusion simple, practical, and sustainable.

We help families:

Rebuild connection through small, meaningful rituals.
Support siblings’ emotional wellbeing without adding more to parents’ load.
Grow empathy, confidence, and belonging across the family.

While our resources nurture emotional connection, they do not replace professional support when it is needed. However, when connection and belonging are nurtured from the early years, children are more likely to develop emotional resilience, and the reliance on external interventions may be reduced over time.

Each tool is shaped by research, refined through lived experience, and tested in real family life. Our mission is to make sibling wellbeing a natural part of family life, not an afterthought.

When and Where to Begin

You can start right now, from home. Connection can happen during car rides, mealtimes, or bedtime chats.

Try the free 7-Day Connection Reset or download the 10-Card Family Conversation Deck. Each resource takes only a few minutes a day and helps families rediscover warmth, laughter, and balance.

We also work with clinics, hospitals, and councils to include our tools in family programs, therapy packs, and community events.

Our Commitment

Emotional Wellbeing

We create resources that help siblings of children with disabilities feel seen, valued, and emotionally supported in everyday family life.

Educational Empowerment

We equip parents and professionals with practical tools and learning opportunities that strengthe connection and understanding between siblings.

Community Advocacy

We reinvest half of our profit into initiatives that amplify sibling voices and build partnerships with organisations that share our mission to make support more accessible.

Behind Sidebysidesibs

Meet the Founder - The Personal Story

Hi, I’m Eufratia. I am an educator, researcher, and parent who understands how complex this journey can be. I have two daughters who have shaped everything I do. My eldest was diagnosed with KIF1A, a rare neurodegenerative disorder that affects her mobility and development. My younger daughter became the “good sibling” who learned to wait quietly in the background.

At first, I thought she was coping well. But over time, I realised that quiet doesn’t always mean fine. She began struggling to make sense of her world and found it hard to manage big feelings. One afternoon, during a long, tearful meltdown, she was only six years old when she cried, “Why is life so hard? I don’t want to do this anymore.”

That moment changed everything.

Even with my background in early childhood education and early intervention, I realised that I had missed something vital. Supporting her emotional wellbeing was just as essential as supporting her sister’s physical and developmental needs.

When I searched for sibling support, I found almost nothing for families like ours. Most programs began at age eight or older, were available only in specific areas, or were too expensive for ongoing support.

That gap became the seed of SideBySideSibs.

What started as one mother’s search for balance has grown into a social enterprise helping families, professionals, and communities restore connection, hope, and belonging. Our work bridges research, lived experience, and design: transforming small family moments into opportunities for lifelong resilience.

Today, SideBySideSibs continues to grow with one simple mission: to ensure every sibling is seen, supported, and celebrated.

What Drives Our Design

Every product we create begins with one guiding question: Would this genuinely help a family like mine?

Before anything is made, we ask:

Is it affordable enough for families who are already stretched by therapy and medical costs?
Is it simple and practical enough for any parent, no matter what capacity or energy level they’re at today?
Does it add pressure or guilt, or does it help parents reclaim moments of connection without extra time or effort?
Can it still feel meaningful and beautiful, even when printed in black and white, used on the go, or adapted for siblings of different ages?

These questions guide every design decision at SideBySideSibs. From our Family Conversation Decks to the 7-Day Connection Reset and upcoming Sibling Journals, each tool is built for real life: small, flexible, and rooted in evidence.

We don’t aim to replace professional care when it’s needed. Our focus is on strengthening the connection that begins in the early years and continues between sessions. When families nurture connection early, children develop stronger emotional foundations, and the wellbeing of the whole family improves.

A note from me to you

If you’re reading this as a parent who feels stretched thin, please know this: you already have what it takes to reconnect. You don’t need perfect words, a full schedule, or more energy. You just need a few small moments of warmth and attention that remind your children they belong.

We simply make it easier to begin. Start small, stay gentle, and keep showing up. That’s where healing begins: not in perfection, but in presence.

Meet the Advisory Member: Dr Simran Kaur

Dr Simran Kaur is a Team Leader and Senior Research Officer in the Brain and Mitochondrial Research Group at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI), where she leads Australia’s first research program into KIF1A-Associated Neurological Disorder (KAND). Her work brings together national and international collaborators to better understand KAND and accelerate the development of future therapies through cutting-edge genomic and stem cell research.

Beyond her research, Simran has been a passionate advocate for strengthening partnerships between researchers, families and community organisations. She has been instrumental in supporting the collaboration between SidebySideSibs and the global KIF1A community, recognising that alongside the search for treatments, improving the everyday quality of life for families, including siblings, is equally important.

As an Advisory Team Member, Simran provides valuable insight to help ensure that SidebySideSibs’ resources remain informed by current research while staying grounded in the real experiences of families living with rare neurogenetic conditions.

Explore Our Family Connection Tools