Description and evaluation of a bereavement group for people with learning disabilities

Summary The present study evaluates the effect of a bereavement group for six people with learning disabilities. There was a significant increase in knowledge of the more ‘concrete’ aspects of death and dying and in participants’ awareness of emotional, behavioural and physiological responses associated with grief, as measured by the Knowledge About Death and Understanding Emotions Questionnaires, respectively. There was a small, albeit nonsignificant, trend towards increased understanding of the components of the death concept, as measured by the Death Concept Questionnaire. The study's outcome and its implications are discussed.