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Going Beyond Words: Supporting Children With Autism Who Are Grieving - Jennifer Wiles, M.A., LMHC, BC-DMT, FT

Grief Out Loud

Release Date: 04/25/2025

Tips For Grieving Through Mother's Day show art Tips For Grieving Through Mother's Day

Grief Out Loud

Mother's Day is approaching - Sunday, May 10th, 2026 - and it's a "holiday" that comes with lots of mixed emotions for those who are grieving. Whether you're a child grieving a parent, a parent grieving a child, or anyone who is carrying grief into the day, this episode might be for you. We explore why holidays connected to particular relationships can be so tough in grief and outline ideas for navigating both the lead-up and the day itself.  This episode originally aired in April 2015.  Other Grief Out Loud episodes related to mothers, mothering, and Mother's Day: Want to learn...

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In this episode, we talk with Dr. Kailey Bradley about support for grieving a death loss, but also the more overlooked non-death losses, including chronic illness, infertility, shifting identities, and the futures we imagined but don’t get to live.  Dr. Bradley is a clinician and educator who specializes in working with children and families navigating grief and illness. Kailey shares her experiences growing up with chronic illness and being diagnosed with premature ovarian failure at age 12, and how those layered losses affected her at different life...

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Jeremy’s mom was a protector, an optimist, and someone who held onto a sense of lightness - even after a cancer diagnosis that led to her death just a few months later. In this episode, Jeremy shares what it was like to navigate such a short window between his mom's diagnosis and death, and how her outlook continues to shape him and his grief. From visiting her just before her death to to time spent in the woods bow hunting, he describes the ways he still feels connected to her. After her death, Jeremy's connection to nature and hunting became a foundation for staying close with his mom....

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What does it mean to live with uncertainty - especially when your body, your capacity, and your sense of self are all changing at once? In this episode, Jana is joined again by author and advocate . You may know Marisa from her first book, , or from her work helping people tell the truth about grief. In this conversation, she returns to share about her new book, Waiting for Dawn, and the realities of living with long COVID - an experience that has reshaped her daily life, her work, and her understanding of grief. Marisa reflects on the many losses she’s navigated over the years: the death of...

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is well acquainted with grief. After a series of losses that started in her late teens and culminated in the death of her mother from cancer, Shelby became an expert in avoiding and outrunning her grief. Then, an incident with a stolen wallet broke through that avoidance; in the aftermath of letting those feelings out, she realized she needed to give herself permission to grieve. Since then, Shelby’s done so much in the realm of grief support—as a coach, author, and host of the podcast. Shelby’s newest book, , written for friends, family, and community members, provides answers to the...

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What does grief look like when you lose your wife, two daughters, your home, and nearly everything you own - all in a single night? In this episode we talk with , a husband, father, and author whose life was forever changed when a wildfire swept through his community, taking the lives of his wife Constance, his older daughter Chloe, his youngest, Lily, their pets, and reducing their home to ashes. Nearly a decade later, Michael shares about the darkness he fell into, who was there to hold him and his son up, the ways he stays...

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In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with death & grief care professional, educator, and cultural advocate Joél Simone, also known as .  Joél shares the story behind a childhood drawing that declared her future as “the grave woman,” and how that early curiosity about death grew into a lifelong vocation in funeral service, grief education, and cultural competency. Drawing from decades of experience, Joél reflects on the spiritual, cultural, and embodied dimensions of grief,...

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Grief Out Loud

When father died of lung cancer during his senior year of college, he turned to music to express what words couldn't - rage, self-loathing, and grief so profound he didn't know where to put it.  In this conversation, Matt - author of the new memoir  - talks about the silence that surrounded his father's terminal illness, the vacuum left by an absent but beloved parent, and how grunge music (especially Soundgarden and Pearl Jam) created space for him to feel what was hard to put into words.  Matt shares how his Aunt Wendy became his unlikely...

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When  partner, Alex, died suddenly from a brain aneurysm while they were visiting his family in Italy, her world shattered in more ways than one. In addition to the grief of losing the person she loved and the future they were building together, Christina was also left to navigate the aftermath of a deeply traumatic event - one that profoundly impacted her nervous system, sense of safety, and identity.  In this episode, Christina shares what it was like to grieve a sudden, “out-of-order” death while also navigating the...

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In this episode of Grief Out Loud, we talk with Adell Coleman about her mother who was killed when Adell was just 24 years old. Adell reflects on the closeness of their relationship and how her mom’s death radically shifted her sense of safety in the world. She shares how the circumstances around her mother’s death, including being the person who found her, has made it difficult to remember how her mom lived, without reliving how she died.  Adell also talks about what it’s been like raising two daughters who never met their grandmother, but somehow...

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In this episode, we delve into the grief experiences of children and teens with autism. Our guest, Jennifer Wiles, M.A., LMHC, BC-DMT, FT - Director of the HEARTplay Program and a dance movement therapist with decades of experience - joins us to discuss how children with autism process grief and how parents and others in their lives can support them. Drawing on her background in both nonverbal forms of expression and grief support, Jennifer shares compassionate, practical insights rooted in her work with families. This conversation is both timely and essential, especially during Autism Acceptance Month, as it highlights the importance of expanding how we understand and support grief beyond more traditional approaches rooted in words. 

We discuss:  

  • The importance of using direct, concrete language when talking about death 

  • Common misconceptions about how kids with autism express grief 

  • Why behaviors often interpreted as indifference may be expressions of deep emotion 

  • How sensory overload and disrupted routines can intensify grief reactions 

  • The powerful role of nonverbal communication—movement, gesture, rhythm, and ritual—in grief expression 

  • How social stories and structured activities can prepare kids for events like funerals 

  • Grief rituals for significant days like anniversaries and birthdays 

  • The impact of other losses, including changes in routine, missed milestones, and the death of service animals 

Resources mentioned: 

Have feedback or a story to share? Email us at griefoutloud@dougy.org 
 Visit dougy.org for grief support resources, activity sheets, and past episodes.