Department News
Parent and Teacher Guidelines on Responding to Disaster

Common Responses include persistent fears (about being separated from family), sleep disturbances, loss of concentration and irritability, physical complaints, withdrawal and listlessness. These symptoms occur as part of the normal, immediate human response to ovewhelming events.

Adults can begin to restore emotional well being by acknowledging feelings, asking for support, reestablishing routines, reaching out to others. They can care for the needs of children and youngsters by listening to their feelings and fears, providing information to clarify what occurred and whether it can affect their lives, and by reestablishing routines that will comfort and reassure.

Additional resources:

The National Institute of Mental Health has a number of resources posted at http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety/ptsdmenu.cfm. One of the options is a report entitled "Helping Children and Adolescents Cope with Violence and Disasters". This report includes recent research findings related to counseling following a disaster.

The National Association of School Psychologists has posted a special set of disaster counseling resources at http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis_0911.html. This includes a link to the handout for parents entitled "Disaster: Helping Children Cope".

The Center for Mental Health Services has a menu of relevant documents at http://www.mentalhealth.org/cmhs/emergencyservices/index.htm. Especially helpful is "After Disaster: A Guide for Parents and Teachers".