Inadequacies of the 5-stage model of grieving as it applies to parents of mentally retarded or physically disabled children are discusssed, as is a revised stage model which accounts for parental adjustment to loss of the idealized child and to rearing the disabled child. Professional support practices are noted. (Author/MC)

Presents a model that integrates individual grief and family grief models and then describes this interaction. Highlights the importance of family processes in each individual's perceptions of the death, as well as each family member's influence on the overall grief reactions and coping strategies of the family system. (RJM)