There are some exciting things happening beyond L'Arche in the areas of aging, dying and grieving in relation to people with intellectual disabilities. This is probably because of pressing needs and the desire in the developmental sector for people to continue to receive support in all areas of their lives as inclusively as possible.

Over the years we have supported people when they have experienced losses of family and friends. It seems it is time to be more intentional and informed about how we do that.

It is important that we all we can to help people be as comfortable and as free of pain and suffering as possible . Do not be afraid to ask for help. Most pallitaive care/hospice teams have pain control and symptom managagment experts that work with them.

We have already learned a lot in L'Arche while accompanying people who were dying. We need to find ways of supporting people to continue living their lives as fully as possible until they die. There is much we can offer the person who is dying and those close to them during this dying process, if we are prepared .Here you will find resources that may be useful while supporting someone who is dying.

Here are a couple of resources that might be useful to share with people with intellectuals disabilities in our communities.

Many of the people with disabilities we have welcomed at L'Arche are now older, and some of the core members at L'Arche may experience the changes associated with aging earlier than is normal. We have much to learn about normal aging and about various forms of dementia, and we are being invited to enter into this learning. Here you will find information and resources about supporting people with intellectiual disablities as they age.

Suppoting someone with an intellectual disability and dementia can be very challenging. It may require us to learn a whole new way of being and a whole new set of skills.

Here are some resources that you may find helpful while you supporting someone with an intellectual disability who is experiencing dementia.