Rice University — Coping with Grief and Loss

Project Goal
Develop a toolkit to support the mental health of people with developmental disabilities (DD) experiencing grief and loss

Project Summary
Rice University is developing an evidence-based toolkit tailored to people with DD that will provide mental health resources for handling grief and loss. The project includes building a community partner network to provide guidance with the toolkit’s development, studying the toolkit’s effectiveness, and sharing the toolkit with families and health care professionals across Texas.

In recent years, people with DD have faced enormous grief and loss as the DD community dealt with one of the highest COVID-19 mortality rates as well as general pandemic isolations and risk factors that are unique to certain disabilities. TCDD funding supports projects that develop tools and resources so people with DD can navigate the experience of grief and loss, which can overwhelm, traumatize, and create long-lasting impacts on mental health.