Children in Disaster
Mental Health
Curriculum
Curriculum Materials
• Build resilience in children and
families
• Understand the risk factors
• Comprehend the effects of
terrorism on children
• Know the normal signs of stress
in children developmentally
Providing Coping Skills
“What matters
apparently, is not
how individuals
actually cope but
rather how they
perceive their
capacities to cope
and control
outcomes.”
Psychiatry Interpersonal and Biological Processes, “ 60,000 Disaster victims Speak: Part II. Summary
and Implications of Disaster Mental Health Research” Fran H. Norris, PhD, Matthew J. Friedman, MD,
PhD, and Patricia J. Watson, PhD, Vol. 65, #3, Fall 2002, p. 238-239.
BUILDING RESILIENCE
Resilience:
“the ability to adapt
well to adversity,
trauma, tragedy,
threats, or
even
significant
sources of
stress.”
Teaching Children & Teens
to Adapt Well
1. Connections
2. Helping Others
3. Daily Routine
4. Take a break
5. Self-care
APA Help Center: Get the Facts: Psychology in Daily Life, A Guide for
Parents and Teachers.
Teaching Children & Teens
to Adapt Well, continued
6. Goal reaching
7. A positive self-
view
8. A hopeful outlook
9. Self-discovery
10.Change is
inevitable
APA Help Center: Get the Facts: Psychology in Daily Life, A
Guide for Parents and Teachers, 12-11-2003.
The Effects
KNOW THE ODDS!
• Did the disaster affect the child
directly?
• How close was the child to the
disaster scene?
• How are the child’s parents or
other caregivers coping?
The Effects
• What gender is the child?
• Does the child have pre-
existing risk factors?
• If the whole family was
affected, are they accepting
help?
Special Considerations
• Evacuation
• Child/parent reunification
• Shelter in place
• Isolation or quarantine
• Decontamination
• Dispensation site:
– Vaccination /treatment
Developmentally
Appropriate Outreach
• Children are not little adults.
• Delayed reactions
• Routine
• Referrals
UNDERREPORTING
• Parents and teachers underreport
children’s internal experiences after a
trauma.
• Encourage parents/ teachers to
provide support by reflecting on the
–Experience
–Reminders
–Reactions
The Media
• Encourage families and schools to
protect children/teens from contact
with the media
• Discuss with parents the
impact that repeated
images of the event
have on children.
Responses to Disaster
Behavioral
Physiological Emotional
Cognitive
Remember that the reactions that you see within each of these
categories are normal and temporary in the aftermath of a disaster.
Toddlers and Preschoolers
Reaction reflects parents
Regresses developmentally
Changes in eating or
sleeping patterns
Fears
Clingy behaviors/
separation anxiety
Exaggerated startle
response
Ages five to eleven
Withdrawal
Separation anxieties
Needs more attention
Decline in school performance
Difficulty concentrating
Somatic complaints –
stomach aches
Heightened aggression/ temper
outbursts
Ages twelve to fourteen
Sleep Disturbances -& other
physical complaints
Appetite disturbance
Competes for attention
Deserts responsibilities
Withdraws- loss of interest
Resists authority
Turns to friends
Experiments with alcohol/drugs
Confusion/poor
concentration
Feel guilt and helplessness
Minimize reactions
More risk-taking behavior
Separation anxieties
Overwhelmed by emotions,
but unable to discuss with
family.
Helping Children with
Special Needs 3
–Visual
–Hearing
–Physical Limitations
–Severe Emotional
Disturbance
–Behavior disorders
Helping Children with
Special Needs 2
–Autism
–Cognitive Limitations
–Learning Disabilities
Helping Children with
Special Needs 1
• Triggers
– Special words
– Images
– Sounds
• Cues
– Physical warning signs
National Association of School Psychologists:
www.nasponline.org/NEAT/specpop_general.html
Helping Families with Injured
Children
• Higher Risk for emotional
problems
• Emotional Support
• Negotiating the system
Unattended Children
Definition
Higher emotional risks later
Safety
Anxiety
Abandonment
Reassurance
Terrorism Events
• Kinds of events:
– Terrorism Chemical Biological Radiological
Incendiary Nuclear (CBRIN)
• Terrorism is an unusual event
• Regain sense of safety
• Desensitization
Cultural Sensitivity
• Disability
• Language
• Ethnicity
• Norms and Values
Help for the Caregivers
When Do We Become Concerned?
Continuing problems
Signs to watch for
Stress or traumatic stress?
Mental Health Diagnosis
Warnings Signs –
Longer Range
–Refusal to return to school
–Clinging behavior
–Persistent fears
–Sleep disturbances
–Loss of concentration
–Irritability
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “Helping Children After A Disaster,”, January 26, 2004.
www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/disaster.htm
Warnings Signs –
Longer Range
–Behavior problems
–Physical complaints
–Withdrawal from family &
friends
–Listlessness
American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, “Helping Children
After A Disaster,”, January 26, 2004.
www.aacap.org/publications/factsfam/disaster.htm
Supportive Activities
Group discussions
Puppet plays
Constructive writing
Community
involvement
Preparing Children for
“Special” Events
Information Involvement
– Age-dependent – Age-dependent
– Promotes healing
– Accurate
– Respect child’s
– Appropriate wishes
– Timely – Culturally
appropriate
Preparing Children for
“Special” Events
Hospitalization of family members
• Appropriate visitation
• Keep child involved in hospitalized family
member’s life.
Reporting Requirements
• Report to your supervisor if you
suspect:
–Child Neglect
–Child Abuse
–Domestic Violence
–Substance Abuse
Impact of Disaster
Positive actions with families can:
Reduce child abuse and neglect
Reduce domestic violence
Promote understanding in differences in
recovery time for people
Help families make positive changes in their
living circumstances
Increase recovery
Help families understand that their reactions are
normal.
Contact Information
Jenny Wiley
Assistant Coordinator, Disaster Readiness
Department of Mental Health
1706 E. Elm
Jefferson City, MO 65102
573-751-4730
Email: jenny.wiley@dmh.mo.gov