October 20, 2026 | 12:00 PM ET | Virtual
Speaker: Kristin Long, PhD
Director of the Child & Family Health Lab at Boston University
Topic: Out of the Shadows: Recognizing the needs of siblings of youth with medical and developmental conditions
Family-centered care models recognize that effects of medical and/or developmental conditions extend to all members of the family, yet siblings are often absent from family-centered care. Using childhood cancer and autism as exemplars, this talk will focus on siblings’ experiences and support needs. We will describe siblings’ supportive roles during childhood and across the life course, discuss the rationale for incorporating sibling support into standard care, and identify barriers to and recommendations for sibling support.
About Kristin Long, PhD: Kristin Long received her PhD in Clinical and Biological-Health Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh in 2012. She completed her clinical internship and postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at the Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital. She joined the BU faculty in 2014.
Dr. Long’s research focuses on (1) reciprocal influences between a child’s medical illness or disability and his/her family and cultural context, (2) health disparities in autism diagnosis and treatment, and (3) the development and evaluation of psychosocial interventions for children with chronic conditions and their families. The majority of her work has been carried out with families facing childhood cancer, intellectual disability, autism, and asthma.