Introduction

Most people experience grief when they lose something or someone important to them. If these feelings are affecting your life, there are things you can try that may help.

Dealing with a loss can be hard for us all. It may be especially hard to explain to a person with a learning disability that a friend or family member has passed away.

Everyone’s level of understanding can be different but if you’re concerned about how to explain death to someone with a learning disability, there are some simple online resources which you may find helpful.

Useful Resources

The Mencap website has a range of booklets and guides that you can view online and print off.

NHS has some resources to help you, including a mood self-assessment if you are not sure what you are feeling.

Your local library

Somerset Parent Carer Forum has books that they can lend to local families.

For young people, there are young minds, which have some resources to help them come to terms with their loss – which may present differently to an adult but is just as important.

Somerset also has Kooth. It’s a free, safe and anonymous online support for young people.

Cruse has resources on their website and a free helpline. There are some groups that also operate in this area.

If you are affected by anything on this page, please talk to someone. The Samaritans are there 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 116 123, it’s free to call at any time.