Helping a young child understand the death of a loved one is difficult under nearly any circumstances. When that youngster is on the autism spectrum, the situation becomes even more complicated. Parents may find it emotionally troubling to be very straightforward when speaking about the death of one of their own parents or one of their siblings. However, autistic children need that candid style of communication or they may misunderstand what exactly has happened. They must be prepared if the parents want them to attend funerals in Hazleton PA.
Parents often tell little children that a grandparent, aunt or uncle has gone to Heaven or crossed to the other side. Especially if the family is part of a religious tradition, children may have no difficulty understanding the metaphor. An autistic youngster, in contrast, may be entirely confused by this message. The child may interpret this as meaning the loved one left intentionally. The youngster may wait for the loved one to return, or expect to go visit this person. When attending funerals in Hazleton PA, an open casket may be frightening for a child who did not expect the person who “left” to be deceased.
In many cases, the deceased person is never viewed by family and friends. Instead, the close family members choose to have a cremation specialist of Pennsylvania respectfully arrange to have the remains cremated without any visitation at a funeral home. They commonly have a memorial service instead of a full funeral. An autistic child who was close to the person who died still must be made completely aware of what happened, which may be even more difficult without the visitation.
The child should be reassured that his or her reaction at the service is normal. Crying is OK and so is not crying. The child can be encouraged to be polite to the attendees who express their sympathy and concern, but shouldn’t feel pressured to accept hugs or other types of physical contact if this feels uncomfortable. The parents will need to provide a great deal of support for the youngster dealing with the first major loss through death.
