Bereavement Professionals’ Insights

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.

Adrianna – Death doulas and grief

Adrianna explains what a death doula is

Madelyn – The power of music

Madelyn – discusses the potency of music and processing good and bad memories

Christian – “Overdose Death”

Christian talks about an overdose death not defining who that person was.

Madelyn – My story

Madelyn tells her story and how she became a music therapist working in palliative care

Cara – People with intellectual disabilities need to be recognized and honoured in their grief

Cara talks about grievers living with intellectual disabilities and that it’s not about those of us who are neuro-typical, giving them a voice or providing them or saying things for them. Rather, it’s that they already have a voice. They already have these experiences and they want them to be recognized, acknowledged and honoured.

Sara – Lyrics

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

Cara – The real issues for grieving people with intellectual disabilities

Cara provides some context for the real issue of grief in the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and those supporting them, including that we consider that there’s not a lot of education or information out there about how best to support someone with an intellectual disability who is grieving.

Michele – Normalizing conversations around death dying grief and loss

Michele discusses grief literacy, the importance of talking and that dying is a part of life

Corrie – Pandemic of grief

Corrie discusses how much grief there is

Amanda – “Hospice”

Amanda talks about the comfort zone in palliative care.

Kristal – Attending Memorials as a Support Worker

Kristal discusses the importance of finding ways to honour people that have been lost and how they have impacted you. She speaks to how she often chooses not to attend public memorials for those she has lost as a support worker as they are often very overwhelming. Instead, she has her own personal rituals or ways of honouring those she has lost personally including opening a window. She discusses how this practice was used when she worked in palliative care.