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The topic of bereavement in people with intellectual disabilities is still rather underestimated in Czech Republic. This paper first describes the myths passed on in this area. Subsequently it characterizes specifics of experiencing grief in people with intellectual disabilities (their possibilities of understanding the reality of death, the influence of the social context) and possible expressions of their grief, that could be sometimes misunderstood for variability of its unusual forms. The core information is the overview of possible support that could be provided to grieving people with intelectual disabilities such us foreknowledge and education about the death, chosen specifics of professional counseling and specific therapy.

Title: Bereavement in people with developmental disabilities Author: Kristýna Štaffová Department: Department of Special Education Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Jan Šiška, Ph.D. Abstract This thesis is devoted to the topic of mourning of people with developmental disabilities. In this paper we focus on the positive influence of the grieving process before it starts, that means, how can we inform an individual with developmental disabilities in a sensitive way about an illness or a death of his beloved. In the introduction we describe bases which are characteristic for people with developmental disabilities and which are useful to consider when communicating bad news. Subsequent chapters are devoted to describing the preparation and process of telling bad news to people with developmental disabilities. The thesis is supplemented by practical examples for better representation of the discussed topic. The conclusion is dedicated to description of the grieving process of 3 persons with developmental disabilities. Key Words person with developmental disabilities, dying, death, grieving, grief, grieving process, bereavement, loss, bad news