ABSTRACT
This chapter describes a unique loss and bereavement service for people with intellectual disabilities. There are several reasons why it is important to pay particular attention to the grief of people with intellectual disabilities. For most people, bereavement leads to a period of grief that will gradually become less all-consuming. Unacknowledged grief is an emotional burden that can lead to mental ill health. For many people with intellectual disabilities, their grief can pass unacknowledged, or at the very least, can be played down. Hollins and Sinason describe three secrets held by people with intellectual disabilities: they state that as well as loss through death, they are likely to experience other profound losses connected to living life with a disability, including the loss of sexual knowledge, and the loss of a welcomed, valued role in society. The chapter considers this in detail.
