Have been communicating back and forth with a student’s mother. Mom has cancer and has been told she has no other treatment options and is working on end of life plans.

Student is 19, has Down’s Syndrome, and mom is his whole world. He calls/texts mom every free time during the school day and tells her he misses her.

Mom has told me the family decision has been to not inform student of the situation in advance. Student is not to know that mom is sick and will not get better and likely will not be around for much longer. He will just wake up one day and be told mom is gone. She says this is because she does not want him to be sad or worried about her before the end of her life.

I am heartbroken for this student. I know it is way outside of my scope to break the news but I hate knowing this information and being not able to do or say anything. This is going to crush him and I know he won’t appreciate not being told when everyone else knows. Is there something I should be doing?