Preparing Special Education students for emergencies

Some students with disabilities have anxiety about changes.  Emergencies like fire, flood, earthquake can be very stressful for students with disabilities both because of the sudden changes to routine, and because of the dangers, and because teachers and aides can be in a hurry to get students moved from one setting to another. 

Plan ahead and use tools like role-play and social stories to help students prepare before an emergency happens.  A plan can help students know what steps to take and feel safer during a scary situation.  You can work with your child's teacher, but whatever you work out, the plan should be documented in your child's IEP in case staff change or a substitute is working with your child when an emergency arrives.

Make sure that you empower your student with knowledge and skills not just frighten your child by making them anxious about an event that may not happen.