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The grief process in children with cognitive/intellectual disabilities: Developing steps toward a better understanding

Posted on:2010-06-25Degree:Ph.DType:Dissertation
University:Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology, Inc.Candidate:Trueblood, SonyaFull Text:PDF
GTID:1447390002485678Subject:Psychology
Abstract/Summary:
This paper addresses the needs of grieving children who have cognitive and intellectual disabilities. Due to limited empirical research and clinical information regarding this topic, it was necessary to utilize knowledge in the areas of children and grief, cognitive and intellectual disabilities, and grieving adults with cognitive and intellectual disabilities. As no written materials specifically designed for caregivers of grieving children with cognitive and intellectual disabilities could be located, this paper utilizes the knowledge obtained from an extensive literature review to develop a handbook for caregivers. The handbook consists of the following: a definition of cognitive/intellectual disability, reasons for learning about and telling the truth about death, how to tell the child about a death and relating the death to spirituality, informing the child about and including the child in funeral/memorial services, typical grief reactions, activities for grieving children, and suggested literature and resources for caregivers.;Index words: Grief, children, cognitive and intellectual disabilities...
Keywords/Search Tags:Intellectual disabilities, Children, Cognitive, Grief
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