The ‘Death and Dying’ Affinity Group seeks to promote understanding, research, scholarship and communication on matters relating to the deaths of people with intellectual disability. It is founded upon the idea that life is so potentially valuable that the processes of dying and remembrance are also worthy of study and, when possible, improvement. The group’s areas of concern are broad and would include the following issues as examples of area of interest: ageing, counselling, funerals, grief, bereavement, medical history, hospice care, specialist palliative care, training, spirituality, life-threatening diseases, medical ethics, death perspectives, pain, pharmacology, mortality, remembrances and grave markers. The group is sensitive to a view that the meaning of death will vary across individuals, communities or cultures. At this level, the group seems to explore the ways in which ‘intellectual disability’ makes a difference to the processes of and responses to dying, as well as the ways in which people are remembered.

The Affinity group will seek to prepare symposia on current work at IASSID events. Between IASSID events, the group’s activities are mainly confined to e-mail discussion, co-ordinating activities and the sharing of ideas and resources. Members of the Affinity Group will seek to bring the work and aims of the group to other relevant IASSID Special Interest and Affinity Groups.

Contact the Convenors

Dr. Stuart Todd (Cardiff University, UK) [email protected]

Dr. Phil McCallion (Albany University, USA) [email protected]