Module Assignment #10 - Children and Adolescents
“One day I wish to die, but today, I wish to live.”
― Peprah Boasiako
10.1 - Overview
Children and Adolescents
"The infant runs toward it with its eyes closed, the adult is stationary, the old man approaches it with his back turned." [Denis Diderot (1713–1784), French philosopher. Elements of Physiology, "Death," notes written 1774–1780, first published 1875; reprinted in Selected Writings, edited by Lester G. Crocker, 1966].
"At birth man is offered only one choice— the choice of his death. But if this choice is governed by distaste for his own existence, his life will never have been more than meaningless." [Jean-Pierre Melville (1917–1973), French film director. Prologue to the film, Le Deuxième Souffle (1965). Quoted in: Colin McArthur, Underworld USA, Chapter 13, 1972].
The purpose of Homework Assignment #10 is to: (a) provide you with an appreciation and understanding that death, dying, and grief have in the lives of children and adolescents and, (b) to provide you with "hands on experience" in learning how children first learn about death, deal with life-threatening experiences in their own lives, cope as survivors, and deal with both change and loss.
10.2 - Using The Internet To Conduct Psych Research
Researching Thanatology
Theme - In this "Internet Research Project," you are to seek out one of the following: (a) a scientific journal article, (b) a national media article or, (c) a Website that discusses, provides a fact sheet, or reports other such findings.
Task - Using one or more of the following resources, discuss some aspect of death, dying, loss, grief and change in the lives of children and youth. Such topics might include terminally ill children, dealing with loss of a pet, loss of siblings/friends, loss of family members, what the developmental stages of learning about death are, and how children cope with loss. Perhaps even discussing how to talk about death with children might be a good topic. Your report is to be in the form of a "discussion paper" of at least one to three typed, double-spaced pages.
You are urged to use the Internet exclusively, though you may use Doyle Library or other such "land-based" resources.
When I was little I was told the reason my grandfather had died was God took him. For a long time, I thought God was a rather nasty person. We need to be cautious when discussing death with children, while at the same time we need to include children and youth in as much of the process of death, rites, rituals, and grief counseling as possible. As Robert Browning said: "Let age approve of youth, and death complete the same."
The link that follows takes you to resources that deal with the many different aspects of loss in the lives of children and youth.
Resources for Parents and Caregivers Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.Doyle Library (Click on Electronic Databases)
10.3 - Psychology Based Websites
Using Internet Tools To Learn About Death and Dying
Task - For the following psychologically oriented Website, report back what you learned from exploring any one of the many sub-categories listed. A tighly written paragraph--or better yet a typed, double-spaced page--sharing what you learned and what your reactions were, would be most appreciated.
Professor's Favorite Section: "Hospice Net." This Website discuss children and grief and has a nice link to a Webpage that discusses "How To Discuss Death With Children." The second link that follows is a Website that explains the various developmental stages that child progress through as they begin to better understand what death means.
Hospice Net For Grieving Children and Youth Links to an external site.
Links to an external site.Developmental Considerations Concerning Children's Grief Links to an external site.
10.4 - Reading Assignment - Chapter 10
Title - Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents"
Your primary textbooks include The Last Dance (10th ed.) by Lynne Ann DeSpelder and Albert Lee Strickland (New York: McGraw, 2014) and Grieving Days, Healing Days, by J. Davis Mannino (San Francisco, California: TeddyBear Publishing, 2013).
Primary Readings
As you read Chapter 10, "Death in the Lives of Children and Adolescents," you should keep in mind the following key questions and core concepts.
Content Overview
1. Children with life-threatening illness are usually able to guess their condition by observing and interpreting the behavior of adults in their environment.
2. When a child's life is threatened by serious illness, it affects the whole fabric of family life. In families that deal openly with such a crisis, the parents tend not to derive their personal identity solely from the role of "being a parent."
3. Sick children use a variety of coping mechanisms to deal with anxiety, confusion, and the sometimes painful treatments that accompany life-threatening illness.
4. Although the legal right of consent for a minor child's treatment remains with the parent(s), it can be argued that health care providers should work to secure the child's agreement to a proposed treatment or procedure.
5. Providing optimal care for a child who is dying involves implementing the principle of whole-person care.
6. Longitudinal studies of children who have experienced a parent's death reveal that children typically construct an inner representation (manifested in memories, feelings, and actions) that is used to maintain a relationship with the dead parent. The nature of this relationship changes as the child grows older and acute grief diminishes.
7. Spontaneous drawings and other forms of art therapy are excellent methods for working with young children.
8. Honest communication tailored to a child's level of comprehension can promote healthy coping with life-threatening illness and grief.
9. In discussing death with children, it is important to listen carefully and verify what you believe they are saying. Accept the reality of the child's grief and answer questions honestly and directly, taking care not to use metaphorical explanations that may confuse or mislead the child.
10. Social support for children includes many of the same kinds of options available to adults who are coping with life-threatening illness or bereavement. In addition to a variety of peer-oriented support groups, there are programs that focus on the needs of specific populations (such as children bereaved as a result of random violence) and programs that seek to "grant the wishes" of children with serious illness.
Objectives
1. To describe some of the ways that young children experience loss and death.
2. To describe unique aspects of the death of a sibling and a parent.
3. To identify common elements in the perception of illness among seriously ill children.
4. To explain how a terminally ill child's fears and anxieties are developmentally related.
5. To identify the various coping mechanisms used by terminally ill children and to assess the value of each.
6. To explain family interaction patterns that may be observed when a child is terminally ill.
7. To describe the various ways of providing and organizing care for a seriously ill child.
8. To identify factors influencing a child's experience of grief.
9. To identify organizations offering bereavement support to children and teens.
10. To illustrate ways of helping children cope with death.
Key Terms and Concepts
bibliotherapy
rule of sevens
distancing strategies
selective memory
mental first aid
spontaneous drawings
Questions For Guided Study and Evaluation
1. Explain how very young children (ages 1–3) make efforts to understand death.
2. Describe and give examples of the developmental phases as they relate to seriously ill children’s understandings and fears.
3. Evaluate the role of children in decisions affecting their own treatment.
4. Discuss some of the challenges in caring for a seriously ill child.
5. Compare and contrast the reactions a child is likely to experience after the death of a pet, parent, or sibling.
6. Develop a detailed plan for helping a child cope with significant loss.
7. Imagine that a fifth-grade teacher has called on you as someone knowledgeable on the topic of death and dying. There is a child in class whose mother is dying; the children know about it and are expressing feelings of anxiety. You have been invited to come and talk to the children about death and dying. Would you go? Why or why not? If you went, what would you say? If you did not go, what advice would you give to the teacher? Provide a detailed answer.
Task 10.4 - In the section above entitled: "Questions For Guided Study And Evaluation," briefly discuss any two questions you wish. Be sure to have enough length and quality to properly respond to each question.
Related Link -
"Nothing would please me more, than to freeze my mother-in-law. I could do it with the greatest of ease. The only thing that gives me pause, is what would happens when she thaws?"
Cryonics is a coined word referring to a method of preserving the entire body, head, or brain of a person who has recently been declared legally dead. It the hope of cryonics to revive the preserved person at some point in the future. The word derives cryogenics, the physical science of very low temperatures. Long-term cryonic storage involves total immersion in liquid nitrogen. Though the topic is a little off the "beaten path" from this chapter's readings, it is of great interest to many people especially children who just love watching and talking about such a prospect.
The following link takes you to a most interesting look at cryonics. Trust me, you'll find it a "chilling topic." Click on the "Video Gallery" in the left hand margin. Once there, you will find a nice video that explains "Cryonics."
Task - Provide at minimum, a half-page, typed, and double-spaced reaction to what you discover and learned at these Websites.
Links to an external site.
Cryonics Links to an external site.
Practice Quiz - Chapter #10
In this section you will find a practice quiz for each assigned textbook chapter in The Last Dance. The quiz is presented in a link below.
Psych 56 - Chapter #10 Quiz - "Death, Children, and Adolescents ..."
10.5 - "Grieving Days, Healing Days" - The Workbook
Learning Through "Hands-On" Doing
Overview
Grieving Days, Healing Days, is an interactive workbook written by Dr. J. Davis Mannino, 2013 (Formerly, Boston: Simon & Schuster, 1996). It is required for this course, because specific pages in the workbook are assigned as part of each homework assignment that you chose to complete.
Assignments to complete in Grieving Days, Healing Days will be listed in this section for each of the 16 homework assignments. Generally speaking, assignments are due by the assigned date. This workbook is loaded with readings, exercises, and activities that will enhance your learning of many important topics in the study of death and dying --- a field that is better known as "thanatology."
It is also important to remember that certain workbook pages will be required reading for assignments that you choose to complete. Therefore, always review and read workbook readings for each of the homework assignments you choose to complete as part of the course requirement. Choose assignments that fulfill your overall course requirement from GDHD.
Workbook Reading Assignment
1. Review Grieving Days, Healing Days, and become familiar with it.
2. At minimum, read and complete ANY THREE of the following assignments in Grieving Days, Healing Days. This only applies to those HW assignments you are completing as part of the course requirement. They may also be credited towards your overall course workbook requirement as well. Please note that all online homework assignments must, at minimum, still be read and reviewed.
Introduction, p. 36
Childhood Memories of Death, p. 37
Drawing Death, p. 38
Child Expert, p. 39
Writing a Death Myth for a Child, p. 40
The Dos and don'ts of Discussing Death & Dying With Children, p. 43
Storytelling Death to Children, p. 45
Children's Books on Death and Dying, p. 46
Infant Losses, p. 50
Childhood Attitudes on Aging, Death, and Dying, p. 52
Children's Questions on Death and Dying, p. 55
Child's Loss Puzzle, p. 53
10.6 - Course Discussion Board
Module #10 - Thought Provoking Question (TPQ) or Article
Overview - The purpose of a course discussion board is to allow students and professor an opportunity to interact about topics of common interest. A discussion board is also a fine tool to share commonly asked questions, answers, and concerns.
You are urged to use the message board, when you have questions that you think others may wish to know; when you have technical questions or answers that others may wish to know, and to share other useful tidbits with each other. I want each of you to become familiar with the message board system.
Once you have composed your thoughts and written them down in a word application program [i.e., Microsoft word] --- with grammar and spell check---you follow through with posting (copy and pasting) them. Remember, to be sure you also post your comments in the appropriate place in the task boxes that links later in this assignment. You only do this if you are also submitting this ENTIRE assignment as one of your required four online assignments for this course.
Task - In each class module, there will be one thought-provoking course related question or article for which discussion is expected from students. While not always directly related to assigned readings, they have important course-wide implications. You are expected to respond to each TPQ by the end of each class module's deadline Be sure to place the question/article module number (#) in the "subject line" so your classmates will know which module topic you are addressing.
Since there is only one "thought-provoking question or article " (TPQ) due per module during the regular semester, a minimum response of 250 to 500 words is required for each message board TPQ posting. Also, students need to post a TPQ for EACH of the 15 online assignments.
This Assignment's Thought Provoking Question (TPQ) or Article
The following link is a graded assignment for the TPQ. (1) Click on the link below, (2) read the TPQ or article, and then (3) respond in the student posting area provided at the end of the article.
Thought Provoking Reading #10 - "Spirit Divine and The Chaplain ..."
10.7 - Death: A Personal Understanding
Oveview
Welcome to a new video feature for my online course.
It is a very fascinating series by the world-renowned Annenberg Media Series. This video instructional series on death and dying is intended for college classrooms and adult learners. It is a 10 part series of half-hour video programs that focus on death and its many facets.
Gain a greater understanding of death and dying through case studies and moving personal stories of people facing their own death or the death of a loved one. This series explores a wide range of North American cultural perspectives on death within the context of current issues, including AIDS, death by violence, suicide, assisted suicide, hospice care, end-of-life decision making, and how children react to death. Leading authority Robert J. Kastenbaum guides you sensitively through these topics. This series is appropriate for courses in allied health, psychology, sociology, religion, and death studies.
Directions
When you arrive at the website, click the video icon you wish to view that says "VoD" [Video on Demand] and then when the "pop-up box" opens, click on the start arrow. Keep in mind that with "streaming videos," some of the film [buffering] must load so it can take up to a minute to load and sometimes it helps if you click on the start arrow again in the "pop-up box." Once you get the hang of it, you will find they all work the same, though with some quirky moments at times. You can also click on an icon in the video box allowing you to enlarge the video as to fill your entire screen. Just click on the "esc" button on our keyboard to leave the "large view" format.
Closed Captioning Note: For my students with disability challenges, there is a "closed captioning" option with this series. As you watch this video, after start up, click in the upper right hand side of the screen and you will see a icon that shows whether the captioning is on or off. To turn it on, click on it and you will see the on off switch change. I find I like watching the videos with captioning on as I have some hearing problems and I can catch everything everyone is saying especially if they are not talking clearly.
"Death: A Personal Understanding" - The Series Link
Video #9 - Death Rituals
To what degree do individual circumstances require spontaneous adaptation of traditional rites? A minister who lost her brother in the Lockerbie air disaster, and a father whose failing marriage affected his role in his young son's funeral, discuss their need to adapt traditional rituals to their own circumstances. A cancer patient planning her service in advance and a veteran at a Vietnam memorial provide a comparison of private and public rituals.
Task
When done reviewing the assigned video, prepare a thorough reaction statement at the "Blue Book" section link described further down at the end of this assignment.
"Death: A Personal Understanding" - The Series Link Links to an external site.
10.8 - Assignment #10 "Blue Book" Responses
Composing Your Responses To Assignment #8 in Module #8
Overview - For each course module there is a major homework assignment that must be completed. Each of these module homework assignments has several tasks. Some entail reading, some include exploring and reviewing websites, reviewing videos, and still others involve written tasks --- work that must be submitted for review and/or grading.
Responses to "tasks" must be sent on time or you will either fail the assignment or be severely penalized. Late homework assignments are perceived as both a student who is "absent from class" and "late with work." Please always maintain a backup copy of all your written work. Glitches occur in online technology-based education, but ultimately it is your responsibility to maintain adequate backup of all work submitted. You are also encouraged to compose your work within a word-processing application and then "copy and paste" into "task boxes." This is so you may avail yourself of spell and grammar check options provided in most modern word processing software.
Please be aware that all submissions are automatically received by the course "gradebook," where they will be evaluated by your professor for acceptance, rejection, or acceptance with penalty. So make sure your work is received promptly. Much the same way that attendance is determined by you presence in the traditional classroom at the regularly scheduled class time, so too is attendance determined by your prompt submission of assignments while enrolled in an online course. Furthermore, arriving to class without homework or with incomplete homework is also perceived in the same manner with an online course. Accordingly, you are encouraged to submit you weekly work prior to deadlines, to avoid computer glitches, "downtime," and other "technological spills and inconveniences."
Directions - Each numbered task box listed below corresponds with tasks described in each module's homework assignment. Usually, tasks outlined on this webpage require written reactions and/or responses.
Be sure to follow directions carefully and precisely when completing each task. "A word to the wise!" Minimal work receives a minimal grade. For example, if a task asks that you provide a written paragraph or two, and you provide just that, then you have provided only minimal work. Simply said, minimal work is "C" work. Well thought out writing that exceeds both excellence and minimal length (word count) and quality requirements is, generally speaking, graded higher and indicative of a "good and solidly motivated student." However length in of itself does not assure quality either, so learn to strike a balance. Good luck!
Particulars - Remember this module is due by a certain date or will be penalized. Overly late assignments may NOT be accepted at all, and at minimum, marked down. The discretion of the professor rules in all such matters. Was your assignment "Online and Ontime?" Before beginning this first homework assignment be sure you understand the word count and quality requirements (1500 to 3000 words depending on grade desired). See Grading Policy in Course Basics at the Course Syllabus for further information regarding requirements and grading of module submissions.
Module Assignment #9 "Blue Book" [Graded Responses Go Here]
Distance Education office at Santa Rosa Junior College, Santa Rosa, CA USA