March 30, 2020

Emergency Preparedness With a Special Needs Child
By Peter Mangiola

Every parent with an elementary schooler has heard their child come home at some point with something to say about emergency preparedness; it's a common enough theme in schools today. But what can you do in an emergency if your child isn't capable of fending for themselves -- much less moving out of a room on their own? 'Preparedness' takes on a whole new meaning!

Knowing Your Emergencies

Every region in the country has its own 'normal' emergencies. You may live in a flash flood zone, an earthquake zone, a flash fire zone, a high crime zone, Tornado Alley, or all of the above! Knowing which disasters are the most likely to strike your area is key to determining how to construct your kits and how to set up your plans (below). The differences and details are far too complex to cover here, but you can and should research on your own.

Setting Up the Social Network

No, not Facebook; the group of people that knows you will call them and/or they will call you during an emergency. The list needs to include at least one relative that lives far enough away that they won't be affected by the same emergency. It should also include at least one person who has been trained in all of your child's medical equipment as well as their condition's protocols. Finally, it should include someone nearby whom you trust with a spare house key and who knows where you keep your medical supplies and how to use them. That's the person you call if, for example, you can't get home in time to pick your child up from the bus and they absolutely need their medicine before you'll be able to return.

The Medical Information Kit

In case of a medical emergency, you need to be able to give the medical personnel deal with your child 100% of the relevant data in a heartbeat. To that end, it's wise to set up an Emergency Information Sheet along with a few spare doses of all of their vital medicines, and put it in a fanny pack or other easy-to-grab bag somewhere very near the front door. Keep it up to date, with all of the most recent information about your child's medicines and condition, and be ready to hand it to any EMT who shows up on-scene.

The Emergency Survival Kits

You should build two emergency survival kits -- one with enough food, water, medicine, and supplies to last you and your child for three days, and another smaller, lighter kit with one days' worth of goods that is portable without slowing you down. Include copies of all of your critical documents from your birth certificates to your child's prescription information -- both in hard copy, and then again on a thumb drive -- in each.

Making Plans

The family should have three basic plans: a plan for escaping the house in case of an emergency, including where to meet up and how to get there; a plan for determining where to look for each other if you get separated while out; and a plan for how to leave town in a hurry should a complete evacuation be ordered.

With everything in place and built to take your unique circumstances into account, you can rest assured that you and your special needs child have the best chance of staying safe no matter how dire circumstances become.