Grief

Following the death of someone who they were close to, children can experience a range of emotions, including sadness, anxiety, and anger. Young people also show a range of behavioural changes (e.g., clinginess, regression, “acting out”, withdrawal, changes in eating, and sleeping). Some children will have difficulties understanding or accepting the permanence of the death. Each child will respond in his/her own way, and is it common for signs of grief to “come and go” with different levels of intensity for some time after the death. It may be helpful for parents to seek professional help if they would like advice about how to support their child through the grieving process, if the intensity of their child’s grief reactions does not appear to be lessening with time, or if the child seems to be having ongoing difficulty in one or more areas of life (e.g., friendships, schoolwork, or family life).

The following practitioners at CPMG can be of service in evaluating and managing grief in children and adolescents:

A/Prof. Daryl Efron

Daryl is a paediatrician who has worked at the Royal Children’s Hospital for 30 years and currently holds appointments as a general paediatrician in the department of General Medicine at the Royal Children’s Hospital, associate professor in the University of Melbourne Department of Paediatrics, and senior research fellow in the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Daryl is active in research into better ways to treat children with developmental disorders such as autism, ADHD and Tourette syndrome.

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