Grief -- especially for and

[Guest guest]

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This post was on a list-serve for parents of young adults with DD. I

thought of you. I know it's been a while since 's mom died. But I

don't think it's ever too late to heal.

Michele W

Aubrie's mom

Last year we had a Grief Share Group for four adults with DD who had lost

parents or grandparents. Van Dyke's book, Lessons in Grief and Death,

is very helpful and written for those with DD. We created our own lessons

and made something to take home that was related to the lesson. Lots of

visuals and hands on activities. One surprising outcome was that the way

the adults helped each other grieve. When someone started crying, others

gathered round. When anger was expressed, they helped keep each other in

check. The group ran for 6 weeks and we ended the group by writing notes to

the person who died, attaching it to a helium balloon and releasing them

outside. Those notes expressed all the things they missed doing with them

and what they loved about them. One of the balloons got caught in a tree

which was perplexing. However, a sudden breeze came along and released the

balloon and we all felt God's smile. Then we went over to the Graham

Center at Wheaton College and went to the Resurrection Room (awesome room

with blue sky and clouds with the Hallelujah chorus being played). The

group loved this room and helped them visualize that heaven is a beautiful

place. Some comments were: " I like it here. " " This is a beautiful place. "

Since the group, one young man has been able to express his grief over the

loss of his dad instead of being angry. He is able to take his pictures out

of the drawers. One day his mother asked him if he would like to place

flowers on his dad's grave. He replied, " No, I'll just send him a balloon. "