Facing
Fear Home Page
The
American Red Cross Facing Fear is a flexible
curriculum to help young people in grades K-2,
3-5, 6-8 and 9-12 be prepared for disasters
and deal with the aftermath of terrorism and
tragic events.
As
much as we would like to protect our children,
we cannot shield them from personal or community
tragedies. We can, however, help them
to be prepared for unforeseen dangerous events
and to learn about facing and moving beyond
their fears and related concerns.
Young
people may be particularly worried about issues
of safety, security and trust. There are
many reactions that are common after a trauma
or disaster. These include re-experiencing
the event (for example, flashbacks), avoidance
and numbing of feelings, increased arousal and
changes in functioning. These reactions
may be manifested in clingy behaviors, mood
changes, increased anxieties, increased startle
responses (for example, more jumpy with noises),
somatic complaints and regressive behavior.
Increased aggressive behaviors may also be seen.
When the trauma or disaster is man-made, such
as a terrorist event, young people may react
with hurtful talk, behaviors or play.
All of these reactions are normal responses
and will, in general, dissipate with time.
However, should these persist or increase over
time, a referral to a mental health professional
should be considered. Similarly, should
these reactions result in a danger to self or
others, an immediate referral may be warranted.
In
the aftermath of terrorism and tragic events,
very young children can feel overwhelmed with
concerns of safety, security and trust.
They are often unsure where to turn for help.
When the safety of their world is threatened,
they may feel insecure and fearful. As
a result, they may be more anxious and fearful.
Children may be more clingy with teachers as
well as with parents. This may be due
to worry about their own safety as well as the
safety of those important to them. Abandonment
is a major childhood fear, so children need
frequent reassurance they will be cared for
and will not be left behind. This message may
need to be repeated many times each day.
By returning to a regular classroom routine,
teachers can help to reinforce a sense of security
in young children. Children's increased
fear may also encompass a worry that the trauma
will re-occur. Because children this age
have not developed a complete sense of time,
exposure to replays of the trauma or disaster
via television may lead them to believe that
the event is happening again and again.
This re-exposure can result in increasing worry
and fear. Limiting this exposure, as well as
exposure to adult conversations about the event,
may reduce the stress in children.
Young
children may have difficulty putting their thoughts
and feelings into words. In order to express
these, they may act out ideas through play.
Teachers may see play that attempts to recreate
the event. Children may repeatedly erect
buildings with blocks only to knock them down.
Children may pretend to be rescue workers or
to be rescued. Children may also become
more aggressive or destructive in their play
as they act out feelings of anger about what
has happened. Teachers may see a direct
link to the event (for example, buildings being
destroyed) or behaviors seemingly unrelated
to the event (such as a game of tag on the playground).
Children this age may talk incessantly about
the event. To these repetitions, children
may gradually add new bits of knowledge that
they gain from others. At times, as young
children try to make the story "fit"
into their concept of the world around them,
the repetitions may come to include misinformation
or misperceptions of the event. Questions related
to the trauma may be equally repetitive.
Teachers may answer a child's question only
to have the same question repeated within a
few minutes. Having the same answer will
increase the child's sense of security and help
the child process the trauma.
Children
this age may have difficulty understanding the
results of the event. For example, very
young children have magical thinking as well
as the belief in the reversibility of loss.
Therefore, they may believe that those killed
in a disaster will return or that buildings
can be easily rebuilt. Children may have
many questions and discussions about death and
dying. They do not have a mature grasp
of the irreversibility of death.
Changes
in behavior are likely after young children
experience a trauma or disaster. One indicator
of increased distress may be more whining and
irritable behaviors. Young children may
have more angry outbursts or temper tantrums,
even over seemingly minor events. They
may also be more defiant in their behaviors.
The opposite may also be seen; some children
will become more withdrawn and less engaged
in classroom activities.
Young
children may show a change in functioning.
They may have toileting accidents. A return
to baby talk is not unusual. Children
this age may be more demanding of help with
activities such as dressing, feeding, cleaning
up and fastening coats. They may have more trouble
with naps because they may be hyperalert as
well as hypersensitive to sounds. Some
children may have nightmares during naptime.
Sleep may be disrupted after a trauma, so children
may be less rested, which can also produce more
irritability. Children may want more help
with schoolwork. Not only does this demonstrate
increased stress, it also addresses the need
for an increased sense of safety and security
by having the teacher provide one-on-one attention.
At times, children may have problems with attention
and concentration on new work presented, which
may require multiple presentations of the material.
Tips
for Using the Lesson Plans
The
American Red Cross Facing Fear curriculum contains
lessons plans for teachers and includes hands-on
or interactive activities for the classroom
that will help students and their families prepare
for disastrous situations and equip them with
tools to sort out their feelings and fears.
Components
of this curriculum supplement the lessons in
core classroom subjects that teachers are already
teaching. Based on the abilities of your students,
their interests and their experiences, you can
choose which lesson plans to introduce and how
extensively to cover them.
An
important goal is to engage families in this
curriculum. To this end, "Home
Connection" segments of the lesson plans
offer you opportunities to enhance parental
involvement in the curriculum experiences covered
in the classroom.
In
each lesson, you will also find the objectives,
suggested readings, a list of key words and
concepts and suggestions for linking the activities
to core academic subjects.
The
lesson plans are presented in a two-column format.
The wider, right column contains the lesson
descriptions; the estimated time required for
setting up, conducting and wrapping up; and
activities for students that reinforce the lesson
learning objectives. The left column contains
the materials needed for activities and symbols
that quickly alert you to activities, curriculum
links, wrap-ups and home connections. Teaching
notes straddle both columns.
The
American Red Cross Web site at www.redcross.org/disaster/masters
supports teachers using the Facing Fear curriculum.
As
you lead the Facing Fear activities, it's important
to emphasize that students must listen to and
respect each other. Everyone can have
the opportunity to share and participate.
No inappropriate laughter, teasing or denial
of any individual's ideas should occur.
Students may have similar as well as different
ideas, and all are valid.
During
discussions, many students will want to talk.
When young people share feelings and thoughts,
they may have difficulty finding the right words.
You can help them communicate by locating the
emotions behind their statements. For example,
you could say something like, "It sounds
as if you don't like to spend all your free
time cleaning up. I wonder if that makes you
feel angry sometimes." Or, "Everything
is quiet at night. I wonder if that is a time
you feel most scared or worried." Sometimes,
students may have difficulty talking about their
own thoughts and feelings. In addition
to encouragement and support for sharing, you
may also phrase discussion questions in the
third person. For example, rather than,
"How do you feel about?" you may also
try, "How do you think children may feel
about?."
Young
people may also make negative or hateful remarks,
particularly when they have been affected by
a trauma or disaster that is human-caused.
Acknowledge
the anger, but help them differentiate between
the perpetrator(s) and other people in the community
who may share, or appear to share, similar ethnic,
religious or cultural characteristics, but who
have no connection to the traumatic event.
Discussion of how intolerance can lead to violence
against everyday people is important.
Younger
children need to see the adults as in control
and as a strong support during a difficult time.
With older (middle and high school) students,
it's okay to acknowledge that you may be experiencing
some of the same difficulties they are, but
express assurance that healing will occur.
Be
sure to use encouragement and praise.
It's
also important that you be aware of your own
reactions and feelings. Be conscious of
your own opinions, feelings and thoughts as
you guide the class. You may want to review
the lesson plan and the feelings it evokes in
you before presenting it to the class. Share
your own feelings with someone in your support
system. Young people take cues from the important
adults around them. Think about what you wish
them to hear from you. Be aware that you
will not be effective if you purposely
or inadvertently take one side over another
in controversies of a political, religious or
other nature, including taking the side of one
student over another. When you model respect for and tolerance of all the views and feelings that your students
share, your students will try to do the same.
Moving
Forward in Spite of Life-Affecting Events
Frightening
events, such as the terrorist attacks in the
United States on September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma
City bombing in 1995, earthquakes here and in
other countries, massive transportation accidents, war or armed conflict or other military action, impact
us all. Events are caused by human beings
can be particularly frightening and raise unique
concerns.
Terrorist
actions are designed to instill fear in individuals
and communities, if not countries. Because
they happen without warning, there is no time
to prepare. This unpredictability leaves
us with a heightened sense of vulnerability
and anxieties that the event could be repeated
again, anywhere. With increased media
coverage, even those not directly impacted can
be significantly effected by the event.
Images make us feel closer to the victims and
we may perceive ourselves as victims of the
actions as well. The questions that arise
from disasters of human design are difficult,
if not impossible, to answer. We want
answers to "why" and "how could
they" and are often left frustrated by
lack of satisfying responses. This frustration
also gives rise to intense feelings of anger.
The anger toward the perpetrators may be uncomfortable
and difficult to express in productive ways.
Generalizing about the terrorists (for example,
all Muslims, all Arabs, or all people with strong
disagreement with the government) may lead to
an increase in hate, prejudice and violence
toward innocent people and groups, thus expanding
the victims of the initial attack. As
adults struggle with reactions and feelings
in the aftermath of a terrorist action or tragic
event, children are similarly searching for
how to best handle their feelings. At
all ages, they take cues from adults around
them (parents, teachers and community and national
leaders).
Young
people need to know that their reactions and
feelings to such events are normal. They
need to recognize that others feel very similar.
Most important, young people need to know that
they will begin to feel better with time and
that it is acceptable to enjoy friends, family
and activities. They need to know that
there are things they can do to help themselves
move forward in a positive way.
The
activities in the lesson plans in this curriculum
are designed to help you help your students
address their fears and move beyond them.
With
permission, parts of Background for the Teacher
above were adapted from Healing After Trauma
Skills, Robin H. Gurwitch and Anne K. Messenbaugh,
University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center,
Department of Pediatrics, 2001.
