Siblings of those diagnosed with Rett syndrome may not experience a typical childhood. They may be exposed to many difficult or upsetting experiences, such as seeing their sister or brother having seizures or needing to undergo emergency medical care.
Siblings have to adapt to the day-to-day pressures of living with Rett syndrome. There may be times when holidays aren’t possible and even day-to-day plans are cancelled.
Unfortunately, due to the demands of everyday life, it can often mean that siblings don’t always get the recognition they deserve. Our new Annual Siblings Awards are here to recognise and congratulate these unsung heroes of the Rett syndrome community.
“Living with a disabled sibling is very difficult and can be especially when children are younger and don’t understand when their sibling with complex needs gets lots of professionals visit, lots of equipment and lots of attention. All they see is that attention and nothing for them or a lot less.
It’s so important to try and understand it from their point of view, see through their eyes, as it is such a unique difficult experience for them. As well as being exceptionally rewarding and helping them to become more emotionally intelligent and understanding as they get older.
They are also very mature for their age but we can never forget they deal with and see a lot. Thea has seen me resuscitate Tilly, her being taken to hospital by ambulance, in high dependency with wires coming out, and major operations where mummy is away for a week with Tilly. She has a lot to deal with.”
Dee – mum to Thea, and Tilly, who lives with Rett syndrome.
The Annual Siblings Awards 2025
‘Super Sibling Awards’ for siblings from 5 – 15 years old
We encourage nominations to be made when the sibling is old enough to understand and fully enjoy the award. Remember, that they cannot be nominated again until they’re 16 years old.
‘Sibling Recognition Awards’ for siblings 16 years old and above
We’re also keen to receive nominations from older teenagers and adult siblings – Rett UK may not have been around when these siblings were younger and we’d like to acknowledge that siblings continue to be a big part of the lives of those with Rett syndrome as they grow older, and often even when a sibling has flown the nest of the family home.
The closing date for the 2025 nominations is Friday 10th October 2025.
Awards will be announced by Friday 31st October 2025 on our social media channels and winners will be contacted directly.
Awarded siblings aged 4 years and under receive a Certificate. Awarded siblings aged 5 years and above receive a Gift Voucher and a Certificate.
Guidelines for entering
- Nominations for an award can be made at any time throughout the year.
- Awards are given once a year in October to coincide with October Awareness month.
- A sibling can only be nominated once in each category
- The nominated sibling must reside in the UK
- You’ll be asked to include a photo in your nomination form submission and a reason for their nomination. Maybe the sibling has;
- done something extra to help their sister or brother
- done particularly well at school, college or university, or got through a difficult time at work
- helped to organise a fundraising event or raised awareness of Rett syndrome amongst their peers, friends, networks or colleagues
- simply been consistently kind and caring towards their sibling.
To nominate a sibling visit www.rettuk.org/siblingawards
The closing date for the 2025 nominations is Friday 10th October 2025.
