The Pines Library
We have our very own Change, Loss & Bereavement Booklist with a wide range of book suggestions on it, but did you know that The Pines Highland Neurodevelopmental Service has its very own library?
The library has a wide range of books suited to those with autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. We searched bereavement and it gave us this list of very useful books for a variety of ages and stages.
The list for change is even longer!
For further information about the Library and the resources available, have a look at their FAQs.
Supporting young children and families through bereavement
The Anna Freud Centre Early Years in Mind network have produced a booklet to help early years setting to support young children and families through bereavement.
The booklet explains in simple terms:
- How young children might be affected by bereavement
- How you can support a young child who has recently experienced bereavement
- How you can support parents, carers and families of bereaved children
- Looking after and getting support for yourself
To access the booklet and find out more about the Early Years in Mind network visit the website here.
Traumatic Bereavement
The UK Trauma Council site has a range of really useful resources and training on their website.
An especially pertinent resource and training is their Traumatic Bereavement offering; free, evidence-based resources to support schools, colleges and practitioners working with traumatically bereaved children and young people.
To find out more about traumatic bereavements and to access the resources and training relating to them click here.
Lost for Words
One useful resource that Isabel came across is the book Lost For Words, downloadable from the Childhood Bereavement Network website.
Many bereaved children are left #LostForWords by death, others simply haven’t enough words to express themselves. This book is made up of quotes, advice and emojis crowd-sourced from children bereaved from birth to late teenage years
It was created by the Life Matters taskforce – a coalition calling for better support for bereaved families – and launched to mark Children’s Grief Awareness Week 2019.
To access the book and further information about it, click the picture below
Supporting C&YP through grief and loss
Education Scotland have created a learning activity entitled ‘Supporting children and young people through grief and loss’.
The Learning Outcomes of this online training are as follows:
Participants will:
- have an awareness of typical grief reactions and the developmental nature of reactions
- be aware of possible grief reactions related to the COVID-19 experience
- be able to describe some of the main models of grief
- be able to identify some risk and protective factors for children and young people
- learn about the key needs of grieving children and ways to support them.
We reference this activity in our Change, Loss, Bereavement Awareness Training. It is especially pertinent in the current climate and allows you to reflect on both your own experiences and those of the children and young people.
It can be accessed here. You will need to sign up, then search in learning activities for ‘grief’.
When People Die: Stories from Young People
When People Die: Stories from Young People is a comic that tells numerous stories about death and resilience from a group of young people. The comic helps readers gain different and better perspectives on grief and what grieving means for young people. These stories and scenarios have been written by a group of young people selected from Children’s Hospices Across Scotland (Robin House), HMYOI Polmont, and Richmond’s Hope, and put together by the team at the Dundee Comics Creative Space.
This comic will help people such as school teachers, guidance counsellors and anyone who reads it to learn more about how it feels to be in the position of a grieving young person, and how to act in situations that may come up with a grieving child.
It can be downloaded here.
How to be Harry’s friend
Harry and Isaac had been together since the first day of school. But what do you do if the most awful thing you can imagine happens to your best friend?
This is a story made by the BBC and read by Gavin Mitchell of Still Game. About how a young boy called Isaac can help his friend Harry when his mum dies.
Supporting children under five years old when someone important has died
The death of someone significant in a young child’s life can
interrupt the natural attachments that are so important at this
stage in the child’s development. This, together with the absence
of strong memories of their own, can be difficult as the child
grows and in later life.
This booklet is for parents, carers and professionals supporting
a young child after a death in the family. It will help them to help
the child to develop an understanding of what has happened,
build resilience and promote long‑lasting connections to the
person who has died.
clbhighland.com 