End of life care in homes for people with intellectual disabilities

Because of a growing number of old people with handicaps, the homes for those with mental diseases are confronted with new challenges and questions. One of them is, whether and how the pedagogic workers can accompany those persons at the end of their life. This claim is connected with a big burden for the colleagues and the whole institution. It requires a manifold support-system in which hospice services can have an essential function. The presented study is dedicated to this specific field which has been rarely addressed within special needs education. It provides a first insight into the present thanatopedagogic practice.