Involving the family, doctors, school and community is essential in supporting children through the emotional and physical challenges they face after being exposed to a traumatic event. For young children, parents can provide invaluable support, providing comfort, rest and an opportunity to play or draw. Parents may be available to ensure that the traumatic event is over and that the children are safe. It is useful for parents, family and teachers to help children verbalize their feelings so that they do not feel alone with their emotions. Providing ongoing care by ensuring that children are taken out of school at the designated time and informing the whereabouts of parents' children can provide a sense of security for children who have recently experienced a traumatic event such as a few-day earthquake. before.

Parents, family, caregivers, and teachers may need to tolerate regression in developmental tasks over a period of time following a traumatic event.

Children should need encouragement to express fear, sadness and anger in a supportive family and school environment. These school-age children may need to be encouraged to discuss their concerns with family members. It is important to acknowledge the normality of their feelings and correct any distortions of the traumatic events they express. Parents have an invaluable role in supporting their children in reporting to teachers when their thoughts and feelings are getting in the way of their focus and learning.

For teens who have experienced a traumatic event, the family can encourage discussion of the event and feelings for it and expectations of what could have been done to prevent the event. Parents can discuss expected relationships with family and peers and provide support in these challenges.

It may be important to help adolescents understand behavior "to bring anger / anxiety out" as an attempt to express anger about traumatic events.

It may also be important to discuss thoughts, address the realistic consequences of actions, and help formulate constructive alternatives that reduce the feeling of powerlessness that teens may experience.

A traumatic experience can jeopardize the developmental tasks of school-age children as well. Children of this age can develop sleep disturbances, which may include falling asleep, fear of sleeping alone or frequent nightmares.

Teachers often comment that these children have greater difficulty concentrating and learning at school. Children of this age, after a traumatic event, may complain of headaches and stomach aches for no apparent reason, and some children engage in reckless careless or aggressive behavior.

Adolescents exposed to a traumatic event feel aware of their emotional responses to the event. Feelings of fear, weakness and worry about being labeled "abnormal" or different from their peers can cause teens to be attracted to family and friends.

Teens often experience feelings of shame and guilt about the traumatic event and may express fantasies of revenge and retribution. A traumatic event for adolescents can trigger a radical change in the way these children think about the world. Some teens engage in self-destructive or accident-prone behaviors.


Engaging in post-disaster activities that facilitate healing

Three key components in the process of overcoming an emergency that lead to recovery:
- Exposure to the discussion of events related to natural disasters,
- Promoting positive coping and problem solving skills, and
- Strengthening friendships and peer support of children.

In special way:

· Encourage children to talk about the earthquake related event.
Children need an opportunity to discuss their experiences in a safe and accepting environment. Provide activities that enable children to discuss their experiences. These can include a variety of methods (both verbal and nonverbal) and include various projects (eg, drawing, stories, audio / video recording). etc.


· Promote positive coping and problem solving skills
Activities / Discussions should teach children how to apply problem solving skills. Children should be encouraged to develop realistic and positive coping methods that increase their ability to manage anxiety and identify which strategies are appropriate for each situation.

· Strengthen children's friendship and peer support

Children with strong emotional support from others are better able to cope with adversity. Children's relationships with peers can provide suggestions on how to cope with difficulties and can help reduce isolation.
In many emergency situations like this, friendships can break down due to family relocations. In some cases
parents may be less available to provide support for their children due to their worry and being overwhelmed. It is important that children develop supportive relationships with their teachers and classmates.
Activities may include encouraging children to work collaboratively in small groups to increase peer support.

· Highlight children's resistance.
Focus on their competencies in their daily lives and other difficult times Help the children identify what they have done in the past that helped them cope when they were frightened or upset. Talk about other communities that have experienced natural disasters and have recovered.

· Refer cases as far as you can find that they need treatment from a school psychologist or another mental health specialist.

How can I help my students?

Teachers play an important role in helping their students recover. Upon returning to school, even in a temporary placement, it should promote the well-being of children and their families. Consider these suggestions to help you in your work with students and their families.

To help your students, first:

â?¢ Take care of yourself! Do your best to drink plenty of water, eat regularly, and get enough sleep.
â?¢ Take time out for your family. Try to take care of your family's personal needs. It can be helpful for teachers to cover each other when something comes up that you need to take care of.

â?¢ Communicate with others / colleagues. Be sure to talk to other teachers to give each one support.
â?¢ Take a break. Try not to overdo it with cleaning activities at home or at school, including raising heavy items or working for extended periods of time.
â?¢ Postpone / Avoid major decisions. Avoid making any unnecessary life-changing decisions during this stressful time.

CARE FOR YOUR STUDENTS:

â?¢ Modify the lesson plans (According to directives that may come from the school board or CAA, below).
Reduce workload, move at a slower pace, and make lessons more enjoyable, especially when the classroom is in a temporary setting, school schedules are changed, and when classmates or other teachers have not returned or have been damaged.

â?¢ Communicate with students. Talk openly with students about their feelings and concerns about the earthquake and the consequences. Provide accurate information to help you clear up misunderstandings and reduce fears.
Complete the discussion with a focus on security procedures and post-recovery recovery activities.

â?¢ Know your students' experiences. Invite students and parents to tell you about changes / harms in the family or at home so you can better understand any changes in the classroom as a result.

· Share information with others. Talk to each other and other school staff to share information and monitor student performance.

â?¢ Provide 'Structure'. As best as possible, maintain a predictable, structured class schedule
with rules and consequences to provide support for your students.

â?¢ Help students cope with concerns.

Help students develop and use their coping skills, such as talking to a trusted adult or doing activities like playing with friends, reading, praying, singing, dancing, or art.

â?¢ Encourage healthy habits / rituals.
Encourage students to drink enough water, eat regularly and have enough rest.

â?¢ Set boundaries in emotional outbursts. It is difficult to have students who get frustrated or pissed. Tell them clearly what is expected / tolerated or not and reinforce good behavior.

â?¢ Reducing memories. Reduce students' exposure to unnecessary earthquake memories.
Limit earthquake teacher-teacher conversations to students and discuss earthquake during class.

â?¢ Identify sleep problems . Tired pupils often cannot concentrate or learn well and can be frustrated with peers and teachers. Encourage students to sleep as much as possible.

â?¢ Be patient. Recovery comes in stages for weeks and months. Don't be discouraged because some students take longer than others or have temporary disabilities.

â?¢ Promote ancillary activities. Engage students in activities to help with school repairs or decorations, including projects to improve the school or neighborhood or to help others in their community.

â?¢ Promote tolerance in your classroom. Students in your class may have been severely affected by the earthquake, psycho-emotional. Help students be sensitive to the concern of others and support each other in positive ways. For example, encourage students to include each other in games, monitor bullying, group them into activities so that all students are included.

IN THE CONTINUATION OF THE LEARNING PROCESS: If you notice or have information from students' parents about the presence of some of the following symptoms, refer them to the school's Psychosocial Service.

Symptom Assessment Checklist in Children:

Symptoms in preschool children, 5-6 years old

1. Regressive behavior, nightmares (ie, scares or anxiety-producing dreams) sleep terrors (i.e., the child suddenly sits in bed crying or crying with a frightened expression and autonomous signs of intense anxiety. The child is irresponsible to the efforts of others to awaken or comfort him / her If awakened, the child is confused and disoriented for a few minutes and confesses a vague sense of terror usually without the content of dreams.) Inability to sleep without light or someone the other present, the inability to sleep at night.

2. Crying in different forms, with screaming, screaming and crying for help (more than usual)

3. Sucking your finger

4. Bed urination: loss of bowel / bladder control for fear of darkness or fear of animals being left alone or by crowds or strangers

5. Inability to get dressed or eat without help

6. High sensitivity to high-pitched noises

7. Fear of darkness, weather - lightning, rain, high wind

8. Nervousness

9. Confusion

10. Sadness, especially for the loss of persons or homes

11. Difficulty in speaking

12. Becoming motionless, with trembling and frightened expressions

13. Running towards adults or on purposeless movement

14. Aggressive or withdrawn behavior.

15. School problems start to appear

Children 6 - 11 years: Pre-teens and teens, 12 - 15 years


1. Invalid urination in bed
2. Sleep nightmares
3. Sleep problems (e.g., interrupted sleep, need for night light or increased sleep)
4. Fear of the weather
5. Irrational fear (eg, security of buildings or fear of sky lights)
6. Nervousness
7. Disobedience
8. Depression
9. Zenka for trivial things
10. Headaches
11. Nausea or vomiting
12. Visual or hearing problems
13. Eating Problems
14. Refusal to go to school, behavior problems at school, poor school performance, decreased interest in activities that have previously been involved: (eg, withdrawal from playgroups, friends and previous or aggressive behavior and frequent fighting with friends or sisters)
15. Attraction and isolation
16. Physical complaints (e.g., headache or stomach ache)
17. Antisocial behavior (e.g., theft, aggressive behavior, or acting out)