Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

Sara – Lyrics

Sara talks about how lyrics can have an impact on how we experience music

Keith – “Grief at any age”

Keith discusses grief and age.

Marija – Permission to mourn

Marija discusses the value of being allowing yourself to mourn

Jenn – Art can be grounding and meditative

Jenn explains how the textures , qualities and colours of art can be grounding and meditative

Keith – “My story”

Keith tells his story and why he became a counsellor.

Caleigh – Play Session

Caileigh discusses child play sessions, how children can learn about confusing feelings of grief and ways to cope.

Keith – “Knowing what to say”

Keith gives practical advice about helping someone in grief.

Christian – “Growth out of pain”

Christian tells about how grief changes and we grow.

Janice – “Crying”

Janice explains how crying helps physically and emotionally.

Alongside

That is also our best, and only role, when supporting a person with a developmental disability to grieve. We must be the one that comes alongside. There is no closer place we can get to. We must be present, be with, perhaps not understanding or comprehending what the person we support is experiencing, but alongside them nonetheless. We must be there, ready to provide whatever we can discover of their unique need in grief.

Craig – Supporting Someone in Grief

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Craig discusses his personal experience with grief and how he felt when people didn’t reach out to him during a difficult time. He offers advice on how to best support someone who is grieving, emphasizing the importance of simply showing up and letting them know that you care.

Cara – Intellectual disabilities and advance planning

Cara explains that people living with intellectual disabilities are growing to older ages, much like the rest of the population. And as folks are aging what we’re seeing is the need for families more so than ever, to do some advanced planning for who will take over any caregiving decision making or where that person may live, what sort of support they may need and what that’s going to look like after the parents or the guardians die so that this doesn’t become a crisis situation.