Thesis statement: Research suggests that individuals with developmental disabilities require better access to adapted grief counseling because there is an increased risk of behavioral and emotional disturbances, they have a smaller support network, and their caregivers assume that they don 't understand loss. Annotated Bibliography Brickell, C., & Munir, K. (2007). Grief and its complications in individuals with intellectual disability. Harvard journal of psychiatry, 16(1). DOI: 10.1080/10673220801929786 This article investigates the need for expanded grief interventions in the ID population. The authors look at a growing interest in the signs of grief that cause long term problems while acknowledging that too little is known about the grieving T., Focht-New, G., & Faulkner, M. J. (2004). Grief in the shadows: exploring loss and bereavement in people with developmental disabilities. Issues in mental health nursing, 25. doi:10.1080/01612840490506383 In the article the authors stress the difficulties that disabled people run into when attempting to deal with grief. They find it critical that caregivers realize that people with disabilities very well may grasp the notion of death, and the various changes that loss may bring. Also brought up is the fact that the disabled population may not show the normal symptoms of grieving, or any symptoms at all. They stress the importance of awareness of these differences in spite of limited communication which in turn can lead to more problems with the grieving individual. This article was written by several well educated professionals in the nursing field. The article appears in a peer reviewed nursing journal that covers topics in psychiatric and mental health nursing that has a 37-year history. The sources history, along with the use of various references from other professional sources establish the journal entries Hollins, S. Managing grief better: People with intellectual disabilities. In Understanding intellectual disability and health. Retrieved from http://www.intellectualdisability.info/mental-health/managing-grief-better-people-with-intellectual-disabilities This article addresses the need for regularly available counselling for people with ID to be comparable to what is given to the rest of society. It goes over the differing needs of the ID population in contrast to what a typical person would require, and goes over multiple examples to explain these differences. It follows up with a list of suggestions for caregivers when dealing with an ID individual coping with loss. Sheila Hollins was Emeritus Professor of Psychiatry of Disability at St. George’s University of London. Her education, long established chairmanship of numerous international advisory boards, and use of multiple credible references lends integrity to her article’s
The article "“Whoever We Are, Loss Finds us and Defines Us”, by Anna Quindlen, invokes the necessary emotions needed to understand an agree with the notions stated about death and grief. Yes, Anna Quindlen succeeded in proving her position by her use of emotion, credibility as an accomplished writer, experiences with death and grief and her writing style. Some people live with grief for the rest of their lives, such as Anna Quindlen and some of her examples, while others can overcome the fight. Effectively using all three elements in this article, Quindlen started her engine, shifted this article into gear and ultimately won the race.
Sakinofsky, I. (2007). The Aftermath of Suicide: Managing Survivors' Bereavement. Canadian Journal Of Psychiatry, 52129S-136S.
The characters in Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones are faced with the difficult task of overcoming the loss of Susie, their daughter and sister. Jack, Abigail, Buckley, and Lindsey each deal with the loss differently. However, it is Susie who has the most difficulty accepting the loss of her own life. Several psychologists separate the grieving process into two main categories: intuitive and instrumental grievers. Intuitive grievers communicate their emotional distress and “experience, express, and adapt to grief on a very affective level” (Doka, par. 27). Instrumental grievers focus their attention towards an activity, whether it is into work or into a hobby, usually relating to the loss (Doka par. 28). Although each character deals with their grief differently, there is one common denominator: the reaction of one affects all.
Disability is a ‘complex issue’ (Alperstein, M., Atkins, S., Bately, K., Coetzee, D., Duncan, M., Ferguson, G., Geiger, M. Hewett, G., et al.., 2009: 239) which affects a large percentage of the world’s population. Due to it being complex, one can say that disability depends on one’s perspective (Alperstein et al., 2009: 239). In this essay, I will draw on Dylan Alcott’s disability and use his story to further explain the four models of disability being The Traditional Model, The Medical Model, The Social Model and The Integrated Model of Disability. Through this, I will reflect on my thoughts and feelings in response to Dylan’s story as well as to draw on this task and my new found knowledge of disability in aiding me to become
Unfortunately, a lot of parents may have a difficult time accepting their child, and coping with their needs and the responsibilities. From the book “The Elephant in the Playroom,” some families dealt with depression and physical and mental deterioration of their health. These struggles were shown in the story by Laura Cichoracki. Laura’s son’s name was Patrick. Patrick was a 6-years-old boy with autism. “I wasn’t eating right, I wasn’t showering regularly, I wasn’t sleeping well” (Brodey, p. 64). I also read the story told by Susan Marrash-Minnerly, which highlighted emotions that parents face. Susan also shed light on how wonderful children with special needs can be to a family, such as her ten-year-old third grader who had autism. Susan talked about how it was normal to feel angry at times, especially with the ups and downs a child’s disability may come with. “When I look back, I want to tell other parents that a child’s future is worth grieving over – but it’s not the end of the world” (Brodey, p. 75). After reading these stories, it became apparent to me that families who are raising kids with special needs, need support, kindness, and available resources. “I was fortunate to be surrounded by other moms who understood my pain…who could be supportive and emphatic.” (Brodey, p. 67). Overall, educators can use this kind of information that was shared in “The Elephant in the Playroom” about family systems and risk/resiliency by creating lines of open communication between families. This is to connect parents together that share similar struggles. By creating open communication is can allows for the teacher and parents to be on the same page when it comes to the issues affecting special needs students and
Individually, everyone has their own methods of dealing with situations and emotions regardless of any positive or negative connotation affixed to them. One prime example of this comes with grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” suggests that there are five stages of mourning and grief that are universal and, at one point or another, experienced by people from all walks of life. These stages, in no particular order, are as follows: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Each individual person works through these stages in different orders for varying levels of time and intensity, but most if not all are necessary to “move on.” In order for positive change to occur following a loss, one must come to terms with not only the event but also themselves.
Everyone copes with grief in his or her own ways. Tracy K. Smith, the poet laureate of the United States and
In order to appropriately respond to an individual that is dealing with bereavement, it is first important to have an understanding of how that individual is likely to grieve...
I have had the privilege to walk alongside many people on their grief journeys. Throughout my thirty years of assisting others, I have developed a model of grief processing I call the Berafian Model. This model allows me an opportunity to work with various ages as well as cultural backgrounds.
Experiencing a sudden death of a loved one is one of the most difficult life experiences to endure. Sudden death is a shock, which leads families to grief stricken numbness, sorrow and sadness. A person who loses someone significant in his or her life goes through a process called grief it is the psychological process while bereavement is the actual state of suffering the loss. When we suffer emotionally we experience pain, guilt and anger, emotions are the response of the bereaved. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate an understanding of bereavement as it pertains to living with a chronic health challenge and reflect this knowledge as it relates to my resource client living with chronic obstruction pulmonary disease (COPD). Using a descriptive review of five articles will reinforce an understanding of the concept and delineate the theoretical components of bereavement. “Everyone who is bereaved experiences grief in their own way, but just as there are specific issues associated with bereavement of sudden death so there are specific issues for particular people” (Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014). There is neither right nor wrong way for a bereaved survivor to grieve.
Major Depressive Disorder and the “Bereavement Exclusion”. American Psychiatric Association DSM-5 Development. Retrieved March 8, 2014, from http://www.dsm5.org/Documents/Bereavement%20Exclusion%20Fact%20Sheet.pdf
It could be said that in modern industrial society, Disability is still widely regarded as tragic individual failing, in which its “victims” require care, sympathy and medical diagnosis. Whilst medical science has served to improve and enhance the quality of life for many it could be argued that it has also led to further segregation and separation of many individuals. This could be caused by its insistence on labelling one as “sick”, “abnormal” or “mental”. Consequently, what this act of labelling and diagnosing has done, is enforce the societal view that a disability is an abnormality that requires treatment and that any of its “victims” should do what is required to be able to function in society as an able bodied individual.
Everyone has or will experience a loss of a loved one sometime in their lives. It is all a part of the cycle of life and death. The ways each person copes with this loss may differ, but according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s novel On Death and Dying, a person experiences several stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, acceptance. There is no set time for a person to go through each stage because everyone experiences and copes with grief differently. However, everyone goes through the same general feelings of grief and loss. There are also sections in Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” that connect to the process of grieving: “On Pain,” “On Joy and Sorrow,” and “On Talking.” Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” reflects on Kübler-Ross’s model of the different stages of grief and loss.
Bereaved Parents go through grief, but extremely more intense than the average individual who has lost a loved one. Grief is different for every individual depending on the loss, and person they lost. Regarding implications and policy for grief, my finding point to the need of education around this topic for schools, social workers, hospitals and therapists. More professional’s services should be provided for not just individuals going through grief, but individuals who have lost a child or who have prolonged grief. Support groups and specialize grief interventions should be implanted into communities for families who are having a difficulty adapting to the death of their child. The high rates of marital problems, health related problems and depression should also be addressed. There should be some therapeutic interventions that reach out to bereaved parents
French, S. & Swain, J. 2008. Understanding Disability: A Guide for Health Professionals. Philadelphia: Churchilll Livingstone Elsevier: 4