Parents' Corner
Robin Hurd
At our house right now, Caleb is struggling with anxiety over medical stuff and people getting hurt. He worries that the ambulance will come if anyone gets a small scrape. He worries about car accidents when Dad goes off to work. He worries that Joshua may do something unsafe and hurt himself. For months, we have been working on a plan to help him understand what constitutes an emergency, and what is just an everyday event that keeps life interesting. Part of our plan to help him deal with his worries is to re-work the emergency plan with he and Joshua as key players in making and describing the plan. Digital photos of us carrying out the plan(if his anxiety level allows), symbols and a flow chart are all things we will use to help Caleb take ownership of what might happen in an emergency.
In the past, we have discussed emergency planning on-line in the context of a unit at school where children study fire safety. I thought it might be helpful to share the resources we made to help Caleb and Joshua.
Often, parents of children who use AAC and have other disabilities and medical problems wonder, “How does all of this emergency planning apply to my child? After all, someone will have to evacuate them in an emergency.” Being prepared for an emergency IS important to people who rely on AAC, even if they cannot get out by themselves in an emergency. Why? Our children need to be able to help as much as they can in an emergency, and they, even more than other children, need to know what to expect. Going out the bedroom window in case of a fire sounds like a big adventure to my normally developing son. To Caleb with his anxiety or my verbal but on the autism spectrum son, it may seem unthinkable—wasting precious time explaining is not a luxury available during a fire. Our children with physical disabilities also require some additional planning. I’ll never forget the night that I was home alone with my twins who have physical impairments and a storm with “mini-tornadoes” swept through our area. I sat in the hallway terrified as I realized that I wouldn’t have time to get both children into the basement by myself if a tornado did occur. Eventually, I decided that the only thing I would have time to do was to put them both into the bathtub for protection. Even though there are normally other people in the house to help evacuate the twins, having a plan on what to do if alone is highly important.
The third reason that emergency preparedness is important to our kids is that we can use it as another way to teach them to have control over their own lives. I like to say, “If you can’t do it yourself, you can boss others and get it done”. Emergency preparedness is one of these issues. Our children may not be able to get themselves out of the house alone, but they can be actively involved in making a plan for how others will get them out, where to meet, etc.
So how do we help our kids be actively involved in making the plan? First of all, walk through the steps that are needed in making the plan. Our kids need to know where they will go, what kind of help they will need, who will provide that help, what might happen that is different and where everyone will meet. We also need to practice the plan so everyone knows how it will work. Practice is especially important if our kids are scared of loud noises like the smoke detector or sirens. Even our regularly developing kids benefit from practice drills. When we are busy evacuating our kids with special needs, the other children need to be comfortable to evacuate themselves independently.
Here is a flow chart that we will use to show the steps to make the plan.
Another important part of the plan is to have a reminder somewhere. I have also made a worksheet that can be cut apart and re-assembled to make a poster showing the plan to hang up in a prominent place in the house. My worksheet isn’t anything magical; it just provides some ideas and symbols to help explain the plan. For some children, actual photos of the family practicing the plan would be even better. Especially for children who have anxiety issues, being able to look at the plan occasionally can be a good way to help know that there is no need to worry about emergencies, because the plan is made. For years, my verbal son who is on the autism spectrum and has some anxiety issues himself had a drawing of our house plan with possible escape routes hanging in his bedroom. He looked at it every once in a while to remind himself that he would be okay if there was a problem.
Making an emergency plan together can take the fear of the unknown out of an emergency situation. Having an active part in the discussion can help our kids to take ownership of the plan. It goes without saying that an emergency plan or poster is NOT the same as having a system to communicate with during an emergency. Being able to look at the plan every so often can help develop a comfort level with the plan. Being able to talk about the plan and know what to say in case of an emergency is another important skill toward independence and safety. All of this will hopefully help our children to be as comfortable and cooperative as possible in the event an emergency occurs. Worksheet to cut apart and paste to support emergency plans.
Your feedback is always valued. parents@aacinstitute.org.
