# Presentation: 219473

## Working with Students with Disabilities in a Disaster

- Chris Dayian, Psy. D.
- Senior Project Director
- Safe Schools Center
- Los Angeles County Office of Education

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Don’t Assume

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Some Statistics

- 54 million people in the United States have a disability
- 58% of people with disabilities do not know whom to contact about emergency plans in the event of a disaster
- 32% of people with disabilities say plans have not been made to evacuate them from their workplace

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Comprehensive School Safety Plan

- Ed Code § 32282 (a) The comprehensive school safety plan school include...

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Comprehensive School Safety Plan

- § 32282 (B)...  “Disaster procedures, routine and emergency, including adaptations for pupils with disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.  §12101 et. seq.)

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## History and Politics

- Handicapped vs. disabled
- Political advocacy
- Categorical programming
- P.L. 94-142
- IDEA, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Who Needs To Be Aware

- Medical staff
- Emergency responders
- Volunteers
- Students
- Other teachers
- Classified staff
- Administrators

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Levels of Disabilities 

- Mild
- Moderate
- Severe
- Profound

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Categories of Disability

- Sensory disabilities
- i.e., deafness, blindness
- Developmental or cognitive disabilities
- i.e., mental retardation,  some neurological disorders
- Mobility disabilities
- i.e., paralysis, amputation

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Alphabet Soup

- IDEA
- IEP
- Tri
- Annual
- TMR
- SED
- SLD

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Alphabet Soup (Cont.)

- VH
- Deaf
- D/HH
- Mob
- PH
- SLD/A
- More and more

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Disabilities	

- Autism
- Deaf-blind
- Deafness
- Hearing impaired
- Mental retardation
- Multiple disabilities
- Other health impairments

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Disabilities

- Orthopedic impairments
- Emotional disturbance
- Speech or language
- Visual impairment including blindness
- Traumatic brain injury
- Specific learning disabilities

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Communication

- Oral
- Aided (extra batteries)
- Manual
- Finder spelling (emergency vocabulary)
- American Sign Language (its own language)
- Augmented
- Picture books
- Communication boards
- Communication devices

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Most Important Things to Have

- One week supply of food-special diets
- Non-electric can opener
- One week supply of food for your service animal
- An adequate supply of water
- One gallon per person per day
- Several flashlights and car lights
- Ten-day supply of medication and instructions

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Most Important Things (Cont.)

- First aid kit specializing in health care
- Battery-operated radio or TV (car)
- Whistle
- Fire extinguisher
- Wrench for gas turn off
- Garbage bags, closeable container and gloves

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Medications

- Storage
- Clearly labeled
- Accompanied by copy of doctor’s orders
- Safely and securely with limited access
- Routinely updated

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Medications

- Additional considerations for storing medication
- Identify students and staff taking medicines daily, at home
- Identify students and staff with short-term disabilities and maladies
- Update routinely

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Specialized Equipment

- Manual back-ups for electrically and battery-operated equipment
- Battery back-ups
- Extra batteries
- Portable generators
- Solar chargers
- Instructions for working with specialized equipment (i.e., wheelchairs)
- Specialized transportation

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Specialized procedures	

- Specialized lifting and carrying techniques
- Specialized feeding techniques and equipment
- Allergies
- Dietary restrictions
- Use of augmentative communication devices ($)
- Behavior management techniques
- Specialized health care procedures

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Vision Disabilities

- Announce your presence
- Speak naturally and directly; do not shout
- Offer assistance, but let the person explain what help is needed
- Describe the actions to be taken in advance
- Allow the individual to grasp your arm or shoulder lightly for guidance
- Warn of narrow passages, ramps, doorways, etc.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Vision Disabilities (Cont.)

- When guiding a person into a chair, place his or her hand on the back of the chair
- If leading several people with visual impairments, ask them to hold each others’ hands
- During evacuations, ensure people with impaired vision are not left unattended

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Hearing Disabilities

- Flick the lights when entering a hearing-impaired person’s area
- Establish eye contact, do not cover your mouth or turn your face away
- Never chew gum
- Use facial expressions and hand gestures as clues
- Use paper and pencil
- Do not allow others to interrupt you when you are giving information

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Hearing Disabilities (Cont.)

- Be patient
- Provide the individual with a flashlight for signaling his/her location
- Learn a number of “signs” to assist communication in a disaster

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Learning Disabilities

- Understand that their perception of written instructions or signs may be confused:
- Divide directions or information into simple steps; and
- Give one direction at a time.
- Acknowledge that their sense of direction may be limited:
- Provide an escort; and
- Use simple signals and symbols

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Individuals with Learning Disabilities (Cont.)

- A person’s ability to understand speech is often better developed than his/her vocabulary. Be sure to give individuals with learning disabilities sufficient information
- Individuals with cognitive or learning disabilities should to be spoken to and treated in an age- appropriate manner

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Evacuation Planning Considerations

- Can wheelchairs be moved over or through the area?
- Can this area be secured to prevent students from wondering off?
- Can this area protect against the elements?
- Can the area provide for electrical outlets or generators?
- Do we have enough people to get the job done?

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Working with Assistive Animals

- Do not pet or offer food to any assistive animal without the permission of the owner
- Understand that when the animal is wearing a harness, it is on duty
- Plan for the animal to be evacuated with its owner
- Hold the animal’s leash and not the harness if asked to provide assistance

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Disaster Psychology

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

**Notes:**
This slide introduces the next section addressing emotional issues during and after an emergency. 

## Vicarious Trauma

- The process of emotional changes in the rescuer:
- Responders’ empathic engagement with survivors; and
- Responders coping with the trauma of others while providing assistance.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Possible Psychological Symptoms

- Irritability, anger
- Self-blame, blaming others
- Isolation, withdrawal
- Fear of recurrence
- Feelings of being stunned, numb or overwhelmed
- Helplessness
- Mood swings
- Sadness, depression and grief
- Denial
- Concentration and memory problems
- Relationship conflicts/marital discord

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Possible Physiological Symptoms (Cont.)

- Loss of appetite
- Headaches and chest pain
- Diarrhea, stomach pain and nausea
- Hyperactivity
- Increase in alcohol or drug consumption
- Nightmares
- Inability to sleep
- Fatigue and low energy

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Team Well-Being

- Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) leaders should:
- Provide pre-disaster stress management training;
- Brief personnel before response;
- Emphasize teamwork;
- Encourage breaks;
- Provide for proper nutrition;
- Rotate personnel;
- Phase out workers gradually;
- Conduct brief discussions; and
- Arrange for a post-event debriefing and reporting.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Strategies for Reducing Stress

- Get enough sleep
- Exercise
- Eat a balanced diet
- Balance work, play and rest
- Allow yourself to receive as well as give, remembering that your identity is broader than that of a helper
- Connect with others
- Use spiritual resources

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Critical Incident Stress Debriefing

- Six phases:
- Introduction and a description;
- Review of the factual material;
- Sharing of initial thoughts/feelings;
- Sharing of emotional reactions to the incident;
- Instruction about typical stress reactions;
- Review of the symptoms; and
- Closing and further needs assessment.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Phases of a Crisis

- Impact
- Inventory
- Rescue
- Recovery

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Traumatic Crisis

- Traumatic events people may experience or witness:
- Actual or potential death or injury to self or others;
- Serious injury;
- Destruction of homes, neighborhood or valued possessions; and
- Loss of contact with family/close relationships.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Traumatic Stress

- Traumatic stress may affect:
- Cognitive functioning;
- Physical health; and
- Interpersonal reactions.

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Mediating Factors

- Prior experience with a similar event
- Intensity of the disruption to the survivors’ lives
- Individual feelings that there is no escape, setting the stage for panic
- The emotional strength of the individual
- The length of time that has elapsed between the event’s occurrence and the present

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Stabilizing Individuals

- Assess the survivors for injury and shock
- Involve uninjured people in helping
- Provide support by:
- Listening; and
- Empathizing.
- Help survivors connect with
- 	natural support systems

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Avoid Saying . . .

- “I understand”
- “Don’t feel bad”
- “You’re strong. You’ll get through this”
- “Don’t cry”
- “It’s God’s will”
- “It could be worse” or “At least you still have...”

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Managing the Death Scene

- Cover the body; treat it with respect
- Have one family member look at the body and decide if the rest of the family should see it
- Allow family members to hold or spend time with the deceased
- Let the family grieve

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Informing Family of a Death

- Separate the family members
- Use a quiet, private place
- Have the person(s) sit down, if possible
- Make eye contact
- Use a calm, kind voice
- Inform family members using the following words: “I’m sorry, but your family member has died.  I am so sorry”

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006

## Who Are People With Disabilities?

- Nearly four million people require the assistance of another person for daily living activities such as getting dressed, eating and bathing
- Eight million Americans have limited vision
- 28 million Americans have a hearing loss
- 1.5 million people use a wheelchair
- More than 7 million people have mental retardation

- (c) Los Angeles County Office of Education, 2006