The families of people with intellectual disabilities and palliative care needs

A parent's life is upended when a disability is announced. Associations of special needs families have been active for years to support parents facing the challenges of raising a child with an intellectual disability. Despite the progress made in the past few years, largely due to growing awareness among professional carers, those families continue to struggle to deal with end-of-life issues and would certainly benefit from a closer collaboration with palliative care providers when seeking answers to these painful, complex questions. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.