Grief and Loss Collection

In this interview-style webinar, we will discuss the many life experiences--including but not limited to death—that can trigger the grieving process in Autistic people. Viewers will learn how the Autistic experience of grief and loss may differ from the non-Autistic expectation and experiences, and how this can lead to misunderstanding directed at the Autistic person.

Join our engaging webinar where five panelists share their personal journeys with grief including and beyond traditional loss. This discussion reveals how Autistic individuals experience grief from varied life changes—be it loss of friendship, employment, routine, or late diagnosis.

"What will happen to our children once we have gone?” This Webinar will focus on the valuable endeavor of how parents can plan for the legal and social aspects for their children's future. We will address the importance of future care planning, brief legal aspects, social support and well-being, how to build a support network, and suggested resources. Viewers will also have the opportunity to ask questions.

AIDE Canada Library offers a large collection of print and digital (eBook and audiobook) resources. For each of the resources below, we have included links to all available formats.

If you would like to borrow a print copy of one of these books, you can order it through our free Canada-wide borrow-by-mail service. eBooks and audiobooks can be borrowed online – just sign into our overdrive website or the Libby reading app using your AIDE Canada Library username and password. Visit the Library website to learn more. Questions? Email us at library@aidecanada.ca .

Summary: "Where Do the Stars Go? is a heartfelt story that helps children understand love, loss, grief, and the importance of memories. Through the metaphor of stars, Kiara learns that even though the people we love are not always visible, their love, wisdom, and stories live on in our hearts. This story reassures children that it is okay to feel sad and that memories of those we miss—just like stars—always shine in our hearts."

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Summary: "'What does it mean when someone dies?' 'Why did someone I love have to die?' This book asks questions like these that a child might have about death before offering answers. It uses straightforward text and clear illustrations to explain what death means specifically to children with ASD and other Special Needs aged 5-11."

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Summary: "The available literature on supporting young children through change focuses on the transition to school, but there are many other types of change children may experience in the early years. These changes can have an impact on their wellbeing and development if they aren't properly supported and there is no practical guidance available for early years practitioners on how to do this well. This book begins by explaining the importance of supporting children through change for their social and emotional development and shows how supporting them through change now will give them better resilience to cope with change later in life. Taking changes of routine into their stride is part of the personal, social and emotional development goals of the EYFS framework, so this is something EY practitioners have to think about. The second section of the book looks at different types of change children can encounter (e.g. moving house, new sibling, separation of parents, moving nursery, starting school, death/bereavement, etc.) and gives practical advice and ideas on how early years practitioners and parents can support them through it"

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Summary: "Children and teenagers with autism can struggle to cope with the loss of a loved one, and the complicated and painful emotions of bereavement. This book explains death in concrete terms that the child with autism will understand, explores feelings that the child may encounter as a part of bereavement, and offers creative and expressive activities that facilitate healing. With illustrations throughout, this interactive book begins with a simple story about what happens when people die. Each chapter then expands on the issues that have been raised in the story and offers a variety of coping skills exercises including writing, art and craft, cooking, movement, relaxation, and remembrance activities. Encouraging children with autism to express their loss through discussion, personal reflection, and creative activity, the book is ideal for children and teens to work through by themselves, or with the support of a family member or professional."

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Summary: "The book is an honest, first-hand account of how people with autism deal with the loss of someone in their life. Unlike the non-autistic response, people with autism, when faced with overwhelming or stressful situations, will favour solitude over sharing their emotions, tend to focus on special interests, and become extremely logical, often not expressing any emotion. This behaviour often leads to the belief that people with autism lack empathy, which is far from the case. Through the description of personal experience, and case studies, the book explores how people with autism feel and express the loss of a loved one, how they process and come to terms with their feelings of grief, and offers practical and detailed advice to parents and carers on a range of sensitive issues. These include clear instructions on how best to support someone with autism through the grieving process, how to prepare them for bad news, how to break the bad news, how to involve them in the funeral or wake, and how best to respond to later reactions. The final chapter explores the issue of why children and teens with autism can be drawn to death as a special interest, and explains that the interest is not normally a morbid one."

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Summary: "People with autism often experience difficulty in understanding and expressing their emotions and react to losses in different ways or in ways that carers do not understand. In order to provide effective support, carers need to have the understanding, the skills and appropriate resources to work through these emotional reactions with them. Autism and Loss is a complete resource that covers a variety of kinds of loss, including bereavement, loss of friends or staff, loss of home or possessions and loss of health. Rooted in the latest research on loss and autism, yet written in an accessible style, the resource includes a wealth of factsheets and practical tools that provide formal and informal carers with authoritative, tried and tested guidance. This is an essential resource for professional and informal carers working with people with autism who are coping with any kind of loss."

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Summary: "Alexis Quinn has always known she was different. Academically and athletically gifted, she soared through her years in education but failed to socialise adequately with her peers. Somehow, social norms just passed her by. But her difference had always been her strength, until the birth of her child and the death of her brother, Josh; then her difference became her downfall. Unable to deal with the reality of what happened with Josh, Alexis was detained under the mental health act against her will. She found herself struggling for years, with diagnosis after diagnosis landing on her shoulders. Told repeatedly by doctors that she was dangerous, Alexis tried to become the person the system wanted her to be: someone normal. But it seemed that normal was always just out of reach. As time went by, she realised that the care she thought was going to help her might just be the very thing that would destroy her. Raw and honest, Unbroken tells the story of a strong woman learning how to live beyond diagnosis."
*Note: Includes graphic descriptions of self-harm, suicide, and sexual assault

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Summary: "Losing someone to suicide can open up a world of pain, confusion and grief, and for people with ASDs, the effect can be acute and extremely challenging. Reaching out to fellow Aspies, Lisa Morgan proffers her insight and advice to ensure that others on the autism spectrum don't have to face suicide loss alone. Written from a first-hand account, this astonishingly honest book looks at the immediate aftermath, and how emergency responders can help, as well as the long-term implications of living with suicide loss for individuals on the autism spectrum. The book describes common difficulties after experiencing suicide loss, such as beginning to comprehend the death of a loved one and managing their estate, as well as matters more specific to people on the autism spectrum, such as overstimulated sensory issues and difficulties with misunderstandings and miscommunication at an already chaotic time. The book will also help those who aren't on the autism spectrum to understand how best to help someone with autism who is coping with suicide loss, as well as what not to do."

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Summary: "Examining the types of loss commonly encountered by health-care professionals, this book explains the nature of the reactions to them, shows how to identify people at special risk, and what to do in order to minimize that risk. It combines a strict regard for scientific evidence with the broad clinical experience that makes for sound advice."

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Summary: "Grief is difficult under the best of circumstances. For the neurodivergent brain, processing grief can be more difficult and last longer. In this anthology, individuals tell of their experiences with grief. Death, dying, the loss of previous lives, or friends...all facets of grief are discussed in this honest, yet uplifting anthology."

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