Cerebral-palsied children's interactions with siblings--II. Interactional structure

The interactions between 64 cerebral-palsied children and their siblings were compared to those of matched control dyads. Disabled children displayed pronounced deficits in initiating and directing social interactions. Their siblings, regardless of their age or birth order, took on the leadership role and maintained the positive but controlling stance which was also displayed by mothers of the disabled. Though hierarchical organization allowed the disabled dyads to function effectively, the siblings failed to experience the frequent challenges and the close, reciprocal style of interaction developed by control dyads.