On Death Helping Children Understand and Cope

This book presents a new theory and shows parents and professionals (teachers, counselors, social workers, psychologists, medical doctors and nurses) why and how to help young children understand and cope with death. All children who must deal with death are at risk of emotional and behavioral disturbances, at the time of loss and in the future. They need help by adults in the cognitive and the emotional domain; therefore adults should not wait to see if the child can adequately cope on his own. The book will enable adults to develop knowledge, attitudes and skills that will guide their intervention. It will also develop their sensitivity to the special needs and problems that confront children aged 4-12, faced with crisis related to death in their community, school, hospital and family. The theoretical and the practical aspects of the book are based on research and experiments conducted in Israel, in the U.S. and in other countries, and on the clinical experience of the author with children in crisis. The book also includes a new valid and reliable questionnaire, The Examination of Human and Animal Death Conceptualization of Children aged 4-12, a description of its psychometric characteristics and instructions for administration and scoring. The questionnaire is a relatively simple instrument, in both administration and scoring. It enables a quantitative and qualitative diagnosis necessary to discern those areas in which the child needs intervention and help.