Helping people with learning disabilities to grieve

Historically, it was believed that people with a learning disability did not grieve. Today, however, new and creative ways of working with and supporting the bereft individual who has a learning disability are being sought. This article addresses the current issues for both the individual with a learning disability who has experienced a bereavement and his/her carers, it advocates the importance of competence in the carer to enable effective support, acknowledges proactive educational approaches to enable the individual to cope more healthily with loss, addresses the education and training forum from a pre- and postregistration perspective, and explores the current deficits and potential research areas within this specialist field.