Perceptions of Death and Management of Grief in People with Intellectual Disability

Abstract

Abstract The authors examine the way in which people with intellectual disability (ID) handle death and mourning, and note that the way in which death and bereavement are being experienced depends – among other things – upon the intellectual and socio‐emotional age of the individual. The authors used the theories formulated by Piaget (cognitive development), Došen (socio‐emotional development), Timmers‐Huigens (strategies of ordering experience), and Fowler (stages of faith) to frame an explanation of how people with ID perceive and experience death. This ranges from hardly any understanding (among persons with profound ID) to a clear realization (among persons with mild ID) of death. Within this framework, the authors offer suggestions and tools for counselors that can be used to help people with ID to manage grief, contingent on their degree of emotional‐cognitive‐social development (e.g., offering closeness and physical contact, using specific rituals, making use of stories and photographs, and allowing participation in farewell rituals).