Interpersonal distance measures were used in an attempt *to objectify the sense of isolation said to be present in a child with fatal illness as he nears death. When asked to place each of four significant figures (nurse, doctor, mother, father) at their usual place in a three-dimensional hospital-room replica, the experimental group of 2$ leukemia children aged 6-10 placed the figures at a distance significantly greater than did the matched control group of chronically ill hospitalized children. Although the distance of placement increased with both groups in subsequent admissions, the leukemic children in subsequent admissions increased the distance significantly more than did the chronically ill, lending strong support to the hypothesis that the sense of isolation grows stronger as the child nears death. A final placement of preferred distance leads to the conclusion that the 6-10-year-old fatally ill child not only perceives a growing psychological distance from those around him but for whatever reason prefers it that way. A theoretical explanation of the results is offered based on social learning theory. Does a fatally ill child die alone, psychologically isolated from those around him? Writers and researchers of the dying child detect a concern by medical and nursing personnel that as the child's condition becomes more critical, there is a lessening by the professional in actual number of contacts, in total time spent with the child, or, most commonly, in the quality of the interaction (Binger,