[senco-forum] autism & death

I agree that speaking to the parents is a priority as they can tell you how the child has reacted and the language in which they have talked about the death.

There are many helpful books and organisations - Winston's Wish being an excellent source of information and materials - to help all children help in understanding death.  I'm not sure I agree that no-one should mention the death - unless the family really feel this is necessary and more helpful to the child.  You need to know whether the child has talked about it at home, whether the family are able to talk about it too.  Talking is necessary somewhere - either at home, or at school.  It's a balance between the two.

This is stating the obvious probably.  But you just need to be careful about not mentioning it at all as this would be hard for any child to cope with and understand.  As autistic children are so literal, using concrete language about death will be vital - not falling asleep for example.

I suggest looking at the Winston's Wish website. There are some beautiful story books to do with death, which might be helpful.  There are loads of activities to help a child remember and understand, in positive ways.

Good luck

LJ

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