The Meaning Making Model of Grief, Loss, and Change

Saturday, 11 April 2026

Recently I’ve been co-designing an adult ADHD post-diagnosis workshop, and the colleague I’m working with suggested that rather than the Fisher Personal Transition Curve (John Fisher, 2012) I’ve been using as a helpful guide for people who have just been diagnosed with Autism or ADHD, the Meaning Making Model may have more relevance.

The meaning-making model of grief, pioneered by psychologist Robert Neimeyer, posits that grieving is an active process of reconstructing a shattered world of meaning. Instead of just “letting go,” individuals rebuild their identity and find purpose by integrating the loss into their life story through new narratives, actions, and continuing bonds with the deceased.

Key components of the meaning-making model include:

• Active Reconstruction: Grief is not passive; it is a search for understanding and purpose in a new, altered reality.
• Narrative Construction: Individuals re-write their personal story, making sense of the death and navigating their new identity, according to.
• Three Types of Meaning:
  • Sense-Making: Trying to understand the loss (e.g., “Why did this happen?”).
  • Benefit-Finding: Discovering positive outcomes, such as personal growth, deeper appreciation for life, or strengthening of values.
  • Identity Change: Redefining oneself in the absence of the loved one, as discussed in.
• Continuing Bonds: The model emphasizes maintaining a symbolic connection with the deceased rather than severing ties, often through rituals or incorporating their values into one’s life.

Why Meaning-Making Matters

This approach suggests that finding meaning—whether through spiritual reflection, artistic expression, or turning pain into help for others—is a key factor in adjusting to life after loss, according to. It moves beyond “recovery” and instead highlights that the goal of grief is to create a new, meaningful life that includes the memory of the person who died.

Relevance to Neurodevelopmental Diagnoses

As with the Fisher Transition Curve, the model attempts to capture the process, and journey that people go through with a major transition in their lives.  This does not just include a bereavement or loss, but any significant change, and receiving a diagnosis of ADHD or Autism I believe is just such a major life event.

What’s important to remember is that it is a journey, and different for each and every person.  How the journey unfolds depends on how a person makes sense of themselves in relation to their neurodivergent differences.

In some cases, the process can be very challenging, often uncomfortable, and can take a while to make sense of.  It is therefore important to take time to work through this, hopefully being self-compassionate and understanding.

The diagram hopefully helps make sense of this process.