Special needs and natural disasters

DR RADICA MAHASE

SASHA is five years old and she just went through one of the worst experiences in her life. Her family was trapped in their home due to flooding in the Mayaro area. Sasha was at home with her parents, her older sister and her baby brother. Her parents had prepared for flooding as they had lost most of their household items due to flooding last year. Her parents were vigilant and kept checking the weather updates regularly. They relocated all their furniture and appliances upstairs and stocked up on food and water. They were prepared for heavy rainfall and thought they could handle anything that happened.

What Sasha’s parents did not anticipate was Sasha’s reaction to the bad weather. Sasha was terrified. Every time she heard thunder and saw lightening she had a massive meltdown. When the flood water started to raise, the meltdowns became worst. Her parents remembered that last year, when their home was seriously flooded, Sasha was asleep the night when the rainfall was worst. This year, they did not know how to comfort her or how to make the experience less traumatic for her.

Psychologists have noted that flooding and other natural disasters are especially difficult for young children. For children with special needs, it is even more traumatic partly because they simply do not understand what is happening and partly because they are not forced to deal with changes in their routine, their space, etc. While changes in routine and space might not be a big thing for a neurotypical (normal) child, some children with special needs have difficulties functioning when things are unfamiliar or different.

Authors Freeman, Nairn and Gollop (2015) noted that children may cope better with natural disasters when they are given agency that is; they are allowed to help in whatever way they can, this might take the form of involving them in simple acts such as repacking, cleaning, etc. According to Freeman, children cope better when they play an active role in recovery. Instead of treating them solely as vulnerable and in need of protection, it is important to treat them as competent individuals who can make a change in whatever way, no matter how small. It is also important to allow their voices to be heard. Children should be allowed to express their fears and talk about their feelings, verbally or non-verbally.

When disasters strike, individuals might be so concerned about survival and what’s happening at that moment but it’s also important to reassure children and comfort them in whatever way they understand. In Sasha’s case above, Sasha’s elder sister tried to distract her from what was happening by playing with her and acting like it was just another normal day. Her parents did everything to ensure that she did not look outside and saw the water surrounding their home. Her parents kept letting her know that they could not leave the house but they were okay.

The Geneva Declaration of the Rights of the Child, 1924, states, “The child must be the first to receive relief in times of distress.” Unfortunately, most countries do not focus specifically on helping children during times of disasters; in the case of lower income countries, mainly because of lack of resources. The recent flooding was no different. Thankfully, there was an outpouring of support and relief efforts from numerous individuals and organisations who mobilised to help Sasha’s family and others who were affected.

At a national level, more efforts need to go into arrangements which are specific to children and to those with special needs. A good start would be to develop a National Registry of People with Special Needs. This registry should cover all types of special needs and give locations of individuals. This information must be readily available to regional corporations throughout TT and easily accessible to organisations engaged in relief efforts. Thus, special arrangements can be made to reach out to these individuals during times of disasters.

M. Last noted that “All children even in good times, are often unheard but in distress are apt to be simply not seen.” We need to make sure that this is not the case in TT.

Dr Radica Mahase is founder/director, Support Autism T&T