I doubt the daughter will ever fully understand that her Mum has died (when the unfortunate time comes). I suppose the daughter will end up thinking that her Mum has gone away, for example on a long holiday... My girlfriend works/worked at a respite home, and one of her charges was a 90year old who just couldn't grasp the idea of dying. Up until her last days, she always used to talk about people "going away", as if they'd come back. Apparently it was incredibly sad. She too had "learning difficulties". Also, are they called "Institutions" now? That conjures up images of Victorian Mental Hospitals, etc in my mind... Regards Nick http://nickhough.blogspot.com