ABSTRACT
Over the past three decades, the volume of literature discussing death and children has been slowly increasing. Some aspects of current theory are especially pertinent to the concepts presented in this book. In order to explore what children’s awareness of dying is, one must have some understanding of just how children express themselves. Also, it is useful to have some idea of how children develop an awareness of their own imminent death. At the present time, two views of this awareness process are widely acknowledged. One way to gain an understanding of this world of children is through their drawings, just as using case studies is one method for investigating the human experience in depth. The material in this chapter describes children’s awareness of dying and how they express it, as well as the use of drawings and case studies with critically ill children.
