Teacher Perspectives on Grief Among Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Disenfranchised Grief: The Death of a Student With Special Needs and the Coping of the School Staff - A Qualitative Study

The educational staff that meets the children at school struggles to cope with the death of a child, and often avoids talking with them about the death and their sense of loss. This way of coping is complicated in the case of grief among children with special needs, called "disenfranchised grief ". The aim of this qualitative study was to examine the experience and the perceptions of the educational staff in schools for special education and to assess their way of coping, support and care they employ following the death of a student. 15 staff members from different schools in Israel, interviewed. The findings reveal that schools are a significant source of support for students, staff and parents, alike, in the processing of the loss. The special education frameworks generally maintained a special and close connection with students and families. procedures and guidelines are required following death of a student.

Beyond Silence: A Scoping Review of Provided Support for Grieving Children With Intellectual Disabilities or Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with intellectual disabilities (ID) or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are considered unable to grieve or understand the concept of death and might not receive grief support after the death of a beloved person; hence, they are at risk of developing complicated grief. This scoping review identified existing grief support for children with ID or ASD. Searching seven databases yielded 514 records; six studies met the predefined inclusion criteria. The six studies identified grief support, including discussions, participation in death rituals, family support, stories, and professional interventions. The support could be organized into three levels, micro, meso, and exo, overlooking the macro level completely, indicating that grief support for these children tends to be irregular and inconsistent.

Children's Psychological Reactions to Wildfires: a Review of Recent Literature

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

This review aims to synthesize currently available literature regarding the impact of wildfire on mental health, specifically the psychological reactions of children to wildfires. The information gathered from this review will help health experts understand and address the mental health needs of children during wildfire disasters and may serve as a base for future studies to evaluate evidence-based public health responses to mitigate adverse outcomes.

RECENT FINDINGS

The results identified post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, depression, stress, alcohol/substance misuse, hopelessness, low resilience, reduced quality of life, and self-esteem as the psychological conditions manifesting in children and adolescent post-wildfire disaster. PTSD was the most evaluated psychological reaction in the participants (7 out of eight studies). This review highlights that deleterious mental health effects, such as PTSD, depression, anxiety, and suicidality, can persist in children for years post-wildfire disaster. Factors such as gender, direct exposure to the wildfire, re-traumatization, and resilience informed or ameliorated the severity of the impact of wildfire on children and adolescents. Our findings further emphasize the need for multi-year funding and programs to support children and adolescents' mental health, including children with disabilities in the communities that have experienced wildfire disasters.

The experience of children and adolescents in the school setting a few years after losing a parent

A parent's death shakes the child's world and unbalances the family structure. School can be a source of support, yet there is scarce research on the experience of bereaved children in school a few years after the loss and from their own perspective. In this qualitative-phenomenological study we set out to identify the subjective experience of parentally bereaved children and adolescents in school, at least one year after the death. Twenty parentally bereaved children and adolescents were interviewed. Findings indicated that most felt they were regarded differently by staff at school. For some, this felt right, while others were uncomfortable. Most needed consideration and flexibility and wished the staff would discuss their needs with them. We conclude that it is important to directly inquire about and address each student's needs. School personnel should be better informed about how to deal with students' loss to help them in the long term.

Grief in School-Aged Youth

Grief is an expected response to an internalized sense of loss, regardless of age. This response occurs after experiencing the death of a loved one or a drastic life change that creates a sense of loss. Children and adolescents move through the grief process according to their age and stage of development. Proper support is essential to promote healthy coping and acceptance in youth experiencing grief. The interprofessional school team can support students experiencing grief to enhance student learning outcomes and overall health and well-being.

The Grief Experiences of Children with Developmental Disabilities: A Narrative Literature Review

BACKGROUND

Children with developmental disabilities have wide-ranging social, developmental, and communication challenges impacting their grieving process. This narrative review examined the literature relating to the grief experiences of children with developmental disabilities to identify implications for practice and areas for future research.

METHODS

The literature review was conducted using five databases, and a hand search of dissertations with original research, due to the sparse body of published works.

RESULTS

Nine works were included in the review, which were thematically synthesized into three categories: (1) Understanding of death concepts, (2) Social-emotional responses to loss, and (3) Disenfranchised grief.

CONCLUSIONS

Children with developmental disabilities are affected by loss, even if their comprehension of death concepts is impacted by their level of disability. They may experience challenges due to changes in routines and concrete thinking, and are at risk of disenfranchised grief. Future research is needed to inform developmentally appropriate grief interventions.

Psychological effects of the 2017 California wildfires on children and youth with disabilities

The psychological effects of disasters on children with disabilities are understudied, despite evidence towards increased risk for complications after other types of trauma exposure. This study investigated the experience of children and youth with disabilities exposed to the 2017 Northern California wildfires, with a particular focus on psychological reactions. In-depth interviews were conducted with parents of 14 children and youth with disabilities one year post-disaster. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interviews. Parents described the wildfires as traumatic events for both themselves and their children. Children and youth exhibited stress, grief, and other emotional and behavioral reactions during evacuation, in the immediate aftermath, and one year post-disaster. Navigating disability-related needs, such as accessible housing, contributed to parent stress post-disaster. School and community-based mental health efforts are described, along with a call for increased attention to disaster-related reactions in children with developmental disabilities. Suggestions for improving preparedness and response efforts that better support children with disabilities and their families post-disaster are given.

Teachers' Perception of Grief in Primary and Secondary School Students in Spain: Children's Responses and Elements which Facilitate or Hinder the Grieving Process

INTRODUCTION

Children's experience of grief is influenced by many factors, such as the response of the school environment. The objective of this paper was to explore the grieving children's responses, as well as the factors that facilitate and hinder the grieving process from the teachers' perspective.

METHODS

A qualitative-descriptive study design was used, which included a semi-structured interview conducted with 63 teachers. A thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti7.0.

RESULTS

Great variability was found between different children's reactions to death (decreased academic performance, isolation, etc.). The factors influencing the children's reactions were both child-specific and environmental. The teachers pointed to communication, emotional support, and spirituality as facilitating elements, but pointed to discomfort when talking about death as a factor which hinders the grieving process.

CONCLUSIONS

In conclusion, although children can naturally adapt to a loss, both providing emotional support and training in providing such support are necessary. Nurses can help in the design and planning of specific programmes to help students cope with death and loss.