| Researchers estimate that in the United States alone, there are approximately 400,000 chronically ill children, many of whom are moving inevitably toward death rather than health (Feudtner, Christakis, & Connell, 2000; Gay, Muldoon, Neff, & Wing, 1997). Thanatology is the study of dying, death, and grief, which includes thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and events that all ages experience in regard to the death process (Kastenbaum, 2003). Thanatology is a relatively new and underdeveloped field especially in respect to children in the United States where it is commonly viewed as a taboo and avoidable topic. Children commonly recognize the cues given by adults and learn that the issue of death is off limits, amplifying the inner pain and turmoil for both children and adults. Studies have continually demonstrated that open and honest communication helps to relieve children's and adult's apprehensions and fears of death (Greenspan, 2002; Spinetta, Rigler, & Karon, 1974). However, clinicians and parents often do not know how to intervene, as there are very few available resources. A literature review on the needs of terminally ill children and the parents/clinicians who care for them was performed. Current interventions and resources addressing terminally ill children were also reviewed. The information was incorporated into a children's autobiographical scrapbook to help terminally ill children process their life and death with their parents and/or clinician. |
