Question

1. Describe the stages of grief
2. What is compassion fatigue?
3. Describe the manifestation of mild, moderate, severe and profound intellectual disability

Answer 1

1. Describe the stages of grief

· Grief is a natural part of the healing process. Grief is a strong, sometimes overwhelming emotion for people.

· The reasons for grief are many, such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of health, or the letting go of a long-held dream. Dealing with a significant loss can be one of the most difficult times in a person's life.

· Individual experiences of grief vary and are influenced by the nature of the loss.

· Pattern of physical and emotional responses to bereavement may vary.

Grief is the emotional response to a loss, manifested in ways unique to an individual and based on personal experiences, cultural expectations, and spiritual beliefs

Stages of grief

According to Kübler-Ross’s there are five stages of normal grief that were first proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross.

A. Denial

B. Anger

C. Bargaining

D. Depression

E. Acceptance

A. Denial: It is a normal reaction to rationalize overwhelming emotions. It is a defense mechanism that buffers the immediate shock. It is a conscious or unconscious refusal to accept facts, information, reality, etc.

B. Anger: Anger can manifest in different ways. People dealing with emotional upset can be angry with themselves, and/or with others, especially those close to them.

C. Bargaining: The third stage involves the hope that the individual can somehow undo or avoid a cause of grief. The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain control. This is a weaker line of defense to protect us from the painful reality.

D. Depression: During the fourth stage, the grieving person begins to understand the certainty of death. It's natural to feel sadness and regret, fear, uncertainty, etc. It shows that the person has at least begun to accept the reality.

E. Acceptance: In this last stage, individuals begin to come to terms with their mortality or inevitable future, or that of a loved one, or other tragic event. This stage varies according to the person's situation. This phase is marked by withdrawal and calm. This is not a period of happiness and must be distinguished from depression.

2. What is compassion fatigue?

Compassion fatigue, described as physical, emotional, and spiritual exhaustion resulting from seeing patients suffer, leads to a decreased capacity to show compassion or empathize with suffering people/patient.

Frequent, intense, or prolonged exposure to grief and loss, puts nurses at risk for developing compassion fatigue.

3. Describe the manifestation of mild, moderate, severe and profound intellectual disability

Intellectual disability [ID] was previously called as mental retardation.

Definition

“Significantly subaverage general intellectual functioning, existing concurrently with deficits in adaptive behavior and manifested during the developmental period, that adversely affects a child’s educational performance.”          

- Rosa’s Law

Mild intellectual ability

Most people with ID are classified as having mild intellectual disabilities. Mild ID are slower in all areas of conceptual development including social and daily living skills. These individuals can learn practical life skills, which allows them to function daily activities with minimal levels of support. Difficulty in acquisition and comprehension of complex language concepts and academic skills and can write only simple letters and lists.

Moderate intellectual ability

Individuals with moderate ID can take care of their activities of daily living. They can travel to familiar places in community, and learn basic skills related to safety and health. Their self-care activities require moderate levels of support. Language capacity and academic skills will be affected but are generally limited to basic skills. Abilities include sight-word reading, match written number to number of items.

Severe intellectual ability

Severe ID manifests with major developmental delays, and individuals often can understand speech but otherwise have limited academic and communication skills. They will be able to learn simple daily routines and to engage in simple self-care activities. Individuals with severe ID need supervision in social settings and often need family care and supervision. They usually must live in a setting such as a group home with good supervision.

Profound intellectual ability

Individuals with profound intellectual disability often have congenital syndromes. These individuals cannot live independently, and they require close supervision and help with self-care activities and activities of daily living. May need complete custodial or nursing care. They have limited ability to communicate and often have physical limitations. Capacity for acquisition of academic skills is restricted to basic concrete skills. High intensity support needed across all environment. Mild to moderate disabilities are less likely to have associated medical conditions than those with severe or profound ID.