Whether you are a child, teen or adult, the loss of a special person hurts a great deal. The pain affects us physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, behaviorally and spiritually.
Aultman Grief Services has created Doggone Grief - a board game to help people of all ages verbally communicate their mixture of grief emotions.
"Grief is individual and unique. Communication is the first step toward healing," said Brenda Brown, who is the brainchild of the project, director of Aultman Grief Services and certified thanatologist. "We want people to realize that we are not alone in this painful journey."
According to Brown, she has experienced a lot of frustration helping children communicate their losses due to a lack of effective, child-friendly grief counseling tools available on the market.
"Most kids' first loss is their pet, so it seemed natural to develop a dog-themed game to assist in the communication process," she said, "and dogs show emotion really well too."
There are four grief emotions children can verbalize: sad, mad, scared and happy. A colorful deck of cards depicts these emotions by showing dogs in various activities.
On the back of each card is the dog's real name, a statement about what is going on with the dog in the picture, and a question or two for players to answer about themselves or their loved one who died.
For example:
- Sad card: "Sadie has a blank look on her face like everything is just fine, even though it's not. Do you have times you pretend that everything is just fine, too? Please share.
- Mad card: "Dweezle is upset because someone moved his bed. Have there been any changes at your home since your special person died that made you mad?"
- Scared card: "Oh no, Cole was caught chewing on a tennis shoe. He feels so guilty. Do you ever feel like your special person dying was your fault?"
- Happy card: "Buster just got these cool, new sunglasses for his birthday. What was your favorite gift at your last birthday? Did your special person ever give you a gift?"
- Wild cards are also included to add some fun and humor to the game, such as: Bella sleeps so much better when she has her Raggedy Ann with her. Move back 2 spaces while Bella takes a nap.
The game, which is now being sold on the national market for $35, was in development for more than two years and piloted with children of all ages in area schools.
Matt Gagnon, the counselor at Oakwood Middle School in Plain Local Schools, said, "Doggone Grief is a great concept because there are not many fun activities relating to grief on the market. The days that we played the game in group were the days the children were really able to express their feelings and connect emotionally to the other group members."
Elementary-school-age student Brianna, who was a participant at Camp Erin which is a grief support camp for children ages 6 to 17, said, "I liked it because it was fun, and I got to share my feelings, stories and memories."
Although being a good listener and sincerely playing Doggone Grief is supportive in the grieving process, Brown warns an adult should always lead the game and be prepared to deal with the emotions and situations the game may invoke.
"It is not meant to replace individual grief counseling/therapy, group support or treatment by medical professionals," she said.
To purchase a game, call Aultman Grief Services at 330-479-4835 or go to www.AultmanMarketplace.com and click on "Aultman Clinical Departments." Aultman also offers many free ongoing support groups and grief services. To learn more, go to www.aultman.org or call 330-479-4835.
