ABSTRACT
It is natural for adults to seek to protect children and spare them emotional pain following a loss; that is why they often avoid talking with them about their classmate's death or their own personal sense of loss (21Morgan & Roberts, 2010; 40Webb, 2005). Coping with this is even more complicated in the case of the grief of children with disabilities, called “disenfranchised grief” (Doka, 102002). These children are perceived as lacking the ability to grieve, to experience sorrow and pain, and to understand these feelings. Sometimes participating in the grieving process is denied to them due to society's conduct (Doka, 102002; 12Gault, 2012), which creates separation, distancing, and exclusion rather than closeness and inclusion, thereby depriving the children of the emotional support they need (29Shalev, 2014). Children with disabilities may find it hard to “speak” their pain and will be at risk of developing added difficulties such as depression and complicated grief (Dodd et al., 2008). Therefore, the educational staff is called upon to pay attention to these children's reactions in the period of mourning (Shalev et al., 312022; 28Sormanti & Ballan, 2011). Based on the author's research in Israel, this chapter will focus on youth bereavement and intellectual disabilities.
