![]() ![]() Sometimes behavior will result in detention, suspension, or at times a call to police.Ī recent Wrightslaw article, “When Schools Have Children Arrested for School-Related Behavior Problems,” evidences that police involvement is commonplace. But when that response includes a tantrum or blatant aggression, the school must balance protection of the student with protection of the student body. It is unfortunate to see a child struggling with auditory distress, anxiety or a disrupted routine. Outbursts Sometimes Result in Academic Disciplinary Measures or Litigation In fact, time consistency can over-come almost anything.” However, we have always favored a desensitizing approach in dealing with them with near perfect results. Realiz-ing the ultimate importance of a fire drill, father Derik has continued working with his child: “It is true that many autistic children have sen-sory issues that may be difficult to cope with. Sensory and rigidity issues can make a fire alarm process challenging and stressful, but can make a real event tragic. When the next fire drill takes place, it could very well be that a tan-trum is the explosion of the mount-ing stress.Īn Effective Drill Prepares Everyone for a Real OccurrenceĬan your child manage – or be managed – to stay safe in a true emergency? Without effective prepa-ration, a student with autism could suffer injury or death due to elope-ment or tantrums in the middle of a true fire evacuation. The ongoing fear of an impending fire drill can challenge a student’s attentiveness in class, as his/her mind is focused on the next drill rather than the lesson being taught, or the strategies needed to maintain appropriate behaviors in the class-room. Once children experience the pain and fright of their first surprise fire drill, it is likely that they will develop anxieties resulting from an inability to predict when the next fire drill will take place. Although these are typical self-protective and self-regulating behav-iors, students can endanger themselves or the rest of the class.Ĭhallenges with fire drills can esca-late over time if left unattended. James screams and then bolts toward the door, pushing and hurting several people in his path. There’s a host of ways these children may re-spond to a fire alarm: Matthew covers his ears and hides under his desk in the fetal position. Even without the SPD diagnosis, many children with an Au-tism Spectrum Disorder have an over-responsive, or over-sensitive, reaction to loud and unexpected noise. But it is anything but “simple” to stu-dents who struggle with challenges like auditory sensitivity, schedule rigidity and/or anxiety, for whom this routine school safety procedure can become a complicated and, oftentimes, painful ordeal.Īuditory over-responsiveness, a subtype of Sensory Processing Disor-der (SPD), presents itself as atypical sensitivity to certain sound frequencies or volume, as well as difficulty hearing auditory details, like a teacher shouting instructions while the fire alarm is sounding off. Wedd wait at our assigned location in the schoolyard, and enjoy the freedom of being outside and breathing the fresh air until the “all clear” bell sounded.įor most students, the high-pitched intermittent blast of the fire alarm is simply a minor, temporary irritant. We’d shuffle down the halls toward the exit doors, without incident. The surprise of the loud, unexpected noise would make us gasp, jump out of our seats, and giggle. Making a Routine Safety Procedure (that is anything but routine) Successfulĭuring my school years as a student, fire drills were a welcomed break from the daily routine.
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