Losing a Child With a Severe Developmental Intellectual Disability: Israeli Mothers’ Accounts

Caring for a child with a severe developmental intellectual disability is often extremely challenging. Consequently, if such a child passes away, the grieving process may be complex. In the present study, we sought to characterize Israeli mothers’ meaning (re)construction in the face of such loss. Eight mothers who lost a child with severe developmental intellectual disability participated in in-depth semistructured interviews. Employing Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, three primary meaning templates were identified from their narratives: regrieving the lost child, the duality of grief and relief, and continuous disenfranchisement. The findings revealed a distinctive rupture in the self-narratives of grieving mothers and depicted the intricately intertwined reality of living with and losing a severely disabled child. The interplay between personal and social aspects of this unique grief experience is highlighted, and practical implications are considered.