Grief and Learning Disabilities: We Need to Talk about Death

About the event

Grief and death affect us all and yet people often struggle to talk about them. The anxieties and taboos can be greater for people with learning disabilities and their families, friends and carers. But it is important not to exclude people from these important topics and life events.

When biggerhouse films collaborated with adults with learning disabilities on the film We Need to Talk About Death, many were keen to talk. As Melissa Foster, who was part of the film, observed, ‘You never know when death will touch you on the shoulder, so the more you understand it, the better’.

This panel will explore ways to open up sensitive conversations about grief, death and the end of life. We will screen We Need to Talk About Death and hear from the filmmaker Stephen Clarke. Irene Tuffrey-Wijne (Professor of Intellectual Disability and Palliative Care) will also share insights from her research on talking to people with learning disabilities about dying, death and bereavement, and how these discussions can help us think about what is important and connect to those we love.