Bereavement, Grief Reactions and End of Life

In the last 20 years our understanding of the impact of bereavement on adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) has developed significantly. Positions have moved from questions regarding whether people with IDD had the cognitive capacity to experience grief in response to a bereavement or loss, to the recognition that people with IDD experience the full range of grief reactions, including showing increased risks of more significant grief reactions and complicated grief. However, the literature has tended to focus on adults in general, to the extent that the experience of older adults has not been explicitly considered. Within this context, this chapter aims to bring together the literature on bereavement, grief and end of life among adults with IDD, and consider the recommendations for understanding and supporting individuals experiencing these reactions to loss.