Am I My Brother’s Keeper?

As his parents age, the sibling of a severely autistic adult juggles feelings of devotion, incompetence, and fear

The author, right, with his younger brother Jack, who has severe autism.

By Tom Clements

There’s a question I never ask my parents out of a fear of opening the sluice gates, namely, “What exactly happens when you’re no longer around?” Since I was a young child, I’ve avoided broaching this rather forbidding subject, but every now and then, often in the…