ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION DISASTER MENTAL HEALTH NEWSLETTER
ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION DISASTER MENTAL HEALTH NEWSLETTER
Learning From The Past and Planning For The Future
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT
November 30, 2001
"Careers, like rockets, don't always take off on schedule. The key is to keep working on the engines."
- Gary Sinise
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MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT ONLINE
A reminder to those receiving the newsletter, both new and old, that MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT
past issues can now be accessed online at: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
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APA Help Center
Articles and resources on terrorism and coping with the aftermath:
Coping With Terrorism
Handling Anxiety in the Face of the Anthrax Scare
Managing Traumatic Stress
Reactions and Guidelines for Children Following Trauma/Disaster
Coping With the Aftermath of a Disaster
Resources on Coping With Traumatic Events
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NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) Summer
Institute on Design and Conduct of Randomized Clinical Trails Involving
Behavioral Interventions July 28 - August 9, 2002
http://obssr.od.nih.gov/conf_Wkshp/RCT/RCT_Info.htm
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International Union of Psychological Science (IUPsyS) List of International Conferences
and Congresses Comprehensive list of conferences relevant to psychology within the U.S.
as well as abroad. http://aix1.uottawa.ca/~iupsys/mtg.html
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Education-related conferences
http://www.apa.org/ed/other.html
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HOBBIES AND SPORTS CONNECT TO GRADES AND BEHAVIOR
The way a 10-year-old child spends his or her free time is closely
related to how well adjusted that child is now, and will be in two
years, a recent study reveals. Devoting more free time to structured
and supervised activities--such as hobbies and sports--appears to
enhance a child's academic, emotional and behavioral development.
Spending more time playing outdoors and hanging out, in contrast,
appear to detract from development. These findings, reported in the
December issue of Child Development, come from a Penn State team
including Susan M. McHale and Ann C. Crouter, both professors of
human development and family studies, and Corinna Tucker, who earned
her doctorate at the University. They monitored 198 children and
found that those who spent more time at hobbies were less likely to
report symptoms of depression at age 10, while those more engaged in
sports tended to report fewer symptoms of depression at age 12. The
full story from the Health Behavior News Service is posted at
http://www.cfah.org/hbns/newsrelease/freetime11-19-01.cfm.
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DISASTERS AND CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
Two groups of children with special needs are briefly discussed below: those with prior developmental
or physical problems; and those who have been injured or become ill as a result of the disaster. Both
require more intensive attention in a disaster than normal or less seriously affected children.
A third group, adolescents, while not necessarily having special needs, is also discussed. They do
have some special concerns and needs following disaster.
The Exceptional Children
Exceptional children are defined as those who have developmental disabilities or physical limitations,
such as blindness, hearing impairment, orthopedic handicaps, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, etc.
Exceptional children have special needs that require consideration when a disaster occurs. Disasters
and their periods of disruption bring additional burdens upon the parents of exceptional children.
These parents have problems just in coping with their children's needs on a day-to-day basis. The
emotional needs of exceptional children are very likely to be exacerbated by a disaster of any magnitude.
Most exceptional children live in their own homes and receive assistance from community agencies.
The agencies, part of the network of human services in the community, may need to be alerted to
the special needs of the children in home settings. Exceptional children find it more difficult to
function when their usual home environment is damaged or if they are moved to strange surroundings.
Helping such children to understand what has occurred requires heightened sensitivity. Generally, it
would be desirable to have professionals who normally are in contact with the children assist in
providing help. The professionals are able to locate and identify the children in the community and
determine what special services they need, such as schooling or medical care.
Exceptional children depend to a greater extent than other children on the consistency and predictability
of their environment and the people around them. Familiarity with their surroundings is particularly
important to mentally retarded children, who tend to become confused and agitated by traumatic
events. One reaction is increased levels of clinging behavior. Parents of these children may need the
short-term support of the crisis worker. For example, parents would be helped by learning that their
children have greater need for reassurance so that they can anticipate and be tolerant of the increased
demands. The parents would also benefit from a crisis group with other parents of exceptional children.
Special education teachers can be a source of assistance for the children. In as much as they are persons
familiar to the families and children, they can be very effective in assisting both.
Planning in advance for the needs of children in residential settings, such as treatment centers for
mentally ill, mentally retarded, or physically handicapped children, and for day programs for children,
such as childcare centers and schools, should have high priority. These agencies ahould all have their
own plans that include staff deployment, evacuation to alternate settings, and ways to contact and
inform families of the well-being and location of their children.
The Injured or Ill Children
Like any children who undergo medical procedures, children who have been physically injured in a
disaster or who have become ill and have been brought to the hospital or the doctor's office will be
less traumatized by the injury if the medical procedures that are about to occur are explained to
them. In most up-to-date hospitals this is part of the hospital routine. Consultants can inquire about
the local hospital and professional associations and involve them in crisis planning. Every effort
should be made to have a member of the immediate family remain with the child during hospital
stays and to be present when the child receives medical care. This is reassuring to the family and
to the child.
Parents should encourage children to return to school. They should talk with their teachers about
any problems that are evident either at home or in school. Parent-teacher meetings and programs
can assist in integrating school and family efforts at reassurance and can encourage the child to
understand his/her feelings and to cope with loss and the need to get on with life.
It is important to be aware that each child may react differently, even within the same family. Each
child may need a different type of help to cope with his/her feelings about and reactions to the
disaster.
Adolescents
At this age, the motor skills of young people are often equal to those of adults. However, it is important
for adolescents not to exceed their abilities and to realize that other aspects of their personalities are
not as advanced as their physical development. The mental maturity of adolescents has no direct
relation to their physical growth. Adults should not allow themselves to be influenced by appearances
and expect an adolescent to have an adult mentality. Adolescwents have a great need to appear
competent to those around them. They struggle to gain independence from their families and are
divided between a desire for increased responsibilities and a wish to return to the dependent role
of childhood. Beyond the family and the school, peer groups have a favored place in their concerns
and provide them with various means for validating themselves.
A disaster can have many repercussions on adolescents, depending on its impact on family, friends,
and the environment. They show physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral reactions similar to
those of adults.
Studies have shown that the difficulties experienced by adolescents after a disaster are boredom and
loneliness resulting from isolation from peers due to disturbance of their activities and re-housing of
their families.
Finally, following a disaster, an adolescent may suddenly have to assume an adult role and cope
with the need to become the head of the family and provide financial and emotional support to
the other members of the family. The adolescent's way of envisioning his/her responsibilities depends
on a variety of factors, including cultural background, age, religious views, education, personal
equilibrium, and conception of life.
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REFERENCES
Aptekar, L. and Boore, J.A. (1990). The emotional effects of disaster on children: A review of the
literature. International Journal of Mental Health, 19: 77-90.
Belter, R.W., Foster, K.Y., Imm, P.S. et al. (1991). Parent vs child reports of PTSD symptoms
related to a catastrophic natural disaster. In Children's responses to natural disasters: The
aftermath of Hurricane Hugo and the 1989 Bay Area Earthquake. Presented at the Society
for Research in Child Development, Seattle, April, 1991.
Delamater, A. and Applegate, E.B. (1999). Child development and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
after hurricane exposure. TRAUMATOLOGY-e
http://www.fsu.edu/~trauma/a3v5i3.html Vol. 5, Issue 3, Art. 3, Retrieved May 1999.
LaGreca, A.M., Silverman, W.K., Vernberg, E.M. and Prinstein, M. (1996). Symptoms of posttraumatic
stress after Hurricane Andrew: A prospective study. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
64, 712-723.
LaGreca, A.M., Silverman, W.K. and Wasserstein, S.B. (1998). Children's predisaster functioning
as a predictor of posttraumatic stress following Hurricane Andrew. Journal of Consulting and
Clinical Psychology, 66, 883-892.
Lonigan, C.J., Shannon, M.P., Finch, A.J., Daugherty, T.K. and Taylor, C.M. (1991). Children's
reactions to a natural disaster: Symptom severity and degree of exposure. Advances in Behaviour
Research and Therapy, 13, 135-154.
Saylor, C.F. (Ed)(1993). Children and disasters. New York, NY, USA: Plenum Press. xxii, 237 pp.
Schreiber, M.D. (February 1999). School-based disaster mental health services in the Laguna Beach
firestorm. Paper presented at the 1999 Rocky Mountain Region Disaster Mental Health Conference,
Laramie, WY Feb 11-14, 1999.
Solomon, S.D., Bravo, M., Rubio-Stipec, M., and Canino, G.J. (1993). The effect of family role on
response to disaster. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 6: 255-269.
Stein, B. (1997). Community reactions to disaster: An emerging role for the school psychologist.
School Psychology International, 18: 99-118.
Taylor, A.J.W. (2000). Tragedy and trauma in Tuvalu. Australasian Journal of Disaster and
Trauma Studies, Vol 2000-2. http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/2000-2/taylor.htm
Retrieved October 2000.
To search for books on disasters and disaster mental health topics, children and disasters
and purchase them online, go to the following url:
https://www.angelfire.com/biz/odochartaigh/searchbooks.html
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Contact your local Mental Health Center or
check the yellow pages for counselors, psychologists,
therapists, and other Mental health Professionals in
your area for further information.
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George W. Doherty
O'Dochartaigh Associates
Box 786
Laramie, WY 82073-0786
MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT Online: https://www.angelfire.com/biz3/news
