Re: [SPAM] fire drill

[Guest guest]

Hi Elissa,

I can’t remember who or where I saw

it posted now, but someone once suggested that the child have a role during

fire drill – like carrying out the register or collecting registers from

the other teachers when they were safely outside. The idea was that if there

was something to distract their attention they might feel less stressed by the

noise and bustle. Perhaps she could also keep disposable earplugs in her

desk/schoolbag/pencil-case for emergency use – I’m thinking of

these primarily because they are very small and discrete, so wouldn’t

draw too much attention from the other children.

My older daughter didn’t like bells/fire

alarms etc when she was small so I taught her to put her hands over her ears as

soon as she heard something she thought was too loud and to say that was what

was wrong (in case it wasn’t me who was there). The strategy worked for

her at the time and now she is 13 she seems less bothered by noise.

Regards

From:

Autism and Aspergers Treatment [mailto:Autism and Aspergers Treatment ] On Behalf Of Elissa Mercado

Sent: 06 August 2007 18:40

To:

autism_support_in_Camden ; Autism and Aspergers Treatment

Subject: [sPAM]

fire drill

Does anyone else have issues with fire drills? I am worried about

Jennah's reaction to the monthly fire drills at school. She hates loud noises

(freaks out with the hand dryers in public bathrooms, etc). She is not going to

be able to handle a fire drill (in my opinion). I spoke with her teacher about

it and she said that they would make sure someone was with her when the alarm

goes off. What do other schools do? Thanks, Elissa

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for the earplug idea- I was thinking about sending her to school with headphones or earmuffs (someone suggested those), but I was afraid of the other kids making fun of her. With the earplugs, they probably won't even notice! Elissa

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[sPAM] fire drill

Does anyone else have issues with fire drills? I am worried about Jennah's reaction to the monthly fire drills at school. She hates loud noises (freaks out with the hand dryers in public bathrooms, etc). She is not going to be able to handle a fire drill (in my opinion). I spoke with her teacher about it and she said that they would make sure someone was with her when the alarm goes off. What do other schools do? Thanks, Elissa

[Guest guest]

Actually we didn't have any trouble with our ds using the headphones for the fire drill and no one made fun of him. I remember having one of his classmates come up to me and thank me for helping my ds to stop screaming so much during a fire drill. Considering how much my ds used to scream and how loud and high pitched it was when he was truly stressed out, I can truly imagine the headphones were a godsend for both the teachers and the students.

We had tried earplugs but neither of our sons would use them. They didn't like anything actually in their ears. The headphones were more like him covering his ears with his hands so that worked the best for us. We still use them for the fireworks this July and he is 11 now, and no one said a word about him with them, and we were out in the open on top of a public parking gargage watching them with quite a crowd around and most just thought he was listening to music like a cd player or mp3 player while watching the fireworks. No one even guessed that they weren't attached to anything as we had the cord tucked in his pocket.

I would try a couple of things at home and see what your daughter is comfortable with first before sending them to school, that way she is used to them. Also remember they have to be able to grab whatever it is quickly and get them into her ears quickly too. I would think that small earplugs although hard for anyone else to see would also be hard to find in a classroom desk when they were urgently needed such as in a fire drill, and hard to get inserted in the ear before the child was in distress. The headphones were so much quicker to find, easier and faster to put on as well. Just my thoughts on it. I am sure you will find something that works well for your daughter.

Marie

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[sPAM] fire drill

Does anyone else have issues with fire drills? I am worried about Jennah's reaction to the monthly fire drills at school. She hates loud noises (freaks out with the hand dryers in public bathrooms, etc). She is not going to be able to handle a fire drill (in my opinion). I spoke with her teacher about it and she said that they would make sure someone was with her when the alarm goes off. What do other schools do? Thanks, Elissa

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[Guest guest]

> Thanks for the earplug idea- I was thinking about sending her to school with headphones or earmuffs (someone suggested those), but I was afraid of the other kids making fun of her. With the earplugs, they probably won't even notice! >

Elissa, if the teacher (or parent) explains your daughter's need for earphones to the class then it won't be any big deal. This can be done through discussion and books about autism...if you need one, check out IT'S TIME at www.judithmammay.com.

In one class I worked in (as the special educator/case manager) the classroom teacher got several pairs of headphones and allowed any child to choose to wear them during work time. Of course, everyone wanted to try them, but that died down after the first few days. Some of the kids with ADHD continued to wear them as well as the child with autism, and it DID help them stay focused better, too.

Judywww.judithmammay.com