Tacoma School Shooting Prompts Red Cross To Shares Tips for Helping Youth Cope with Trauma

The Willamette Chapter of the American Red Cross offers information in response to Wednesday's fatal shooting at Foss High School in Tacoma.

Foss High School, Tacoma, Washington Photo: Tacoma Public Schools

(SALEM) - “The Red Cross would like to offer some safety tips to help students and their families cope with this disaster” said Jeff Kresner, Emergency Services Director. “How a parent or other adult reacts to youth and young adults following any traumatic event can help them recover more quickly and more completely” he added.

The following contains general information to help you in this task.

Disasters are upsetting to everyone involved. Youth, older people, and/or people with disabilities are especially at risk. For a youth or young adult, his or her view of the world as a safe and predictable place is temporarily lost.

Youth become afraid that the event will happen again and that they or their family will be injured or killed. The damage, injuries, and deaths that can result from an unexpected or uncontrollable event are difficult for most youth to understand.

Youth Reactions Youth and young adult’s fear and anxiety are very real, even though to adults they may seem exaggerated. Youth may be afraid of what is strange. They may fear being left alone. Following a disaster, they may begin acting younger than the age they are.

Older youth who have shown some independence may want to spend more time with their families. For younger children, behaviors that were common at an earlier age, such as bedwetting, thumb sucking, clinging to parents or fear of strangers may reappear. Bedtime problems may appear. A child may begin to have night-mares; not want to sleep alone; and/or become afraid of the dark, falling asleep or remaining asleep.

Some youth will exhibit their fear by developing physical symptoms, such as stomachaches, headaches or feeling "sick." All youth and young adults may experience thinking difficulties. They can become easily distracted, feel confused and disoriented and find it hard to concentrate.

These reactions can be triggered by smells, objects or activities associated with the trauma. A youth may be unaware of the triggers and of any of the behavioral changes that occur. They are not intentionally showing they are anxious or fearful.

Routines Youth and young adults of all ages can benefit from the family keeping their usual routines—meals, activities, and bedtimes—as close to normal as possible. This allows a youth or young adult to feel more secure and in control. As much as possible, youth and young adults should stay with people with whom they feel most familiar.

Youth and young adults of different ages react in different ways to trauma -

Pre-adolescence and adolescence (12 to 18 years) In this age group, youth have a great need to appear knowledgeable and experienced to the world, especially to their family and friends. When they live through a traumatic event they need to feel their anxieties and fears are shared by their peers and are appropriate. Because they survived the trauma, they may sometimes feel immortal.

This can lead to reckless behavior and taking dangerous risks. Their reactions are a mixture of earlier age group reactions and reactions that are more adult. Teenage years are a period of moving outward into the world. However, experiencing a trauma can create a feeling that the world is unsafe. Even teenagers may return to earlier ways of behaving. Overwhelmed by intense reactions, teens may be unable to discuss them with their family members.

Media Coverage Following a disaster, everyone is eager to hear the latest news about what happened. However, disaster research has shown that unexpected messages or images on television were frightening, causing a reappearance of stress-related problems.

In addition, anyone who watches the disaster coverage can become what is called a "secondary victim" and can suffer emotional and physical problems. It is best to not allow youth to watch news coverage of the disaster.

Feelings and Reactions Youth may express their feelings and reactions in different ways. Your acceptance of this will make a difference to how your child recovers from the trauma. This means accepting that some youth will react by becoming withdrawn and unable to talk about the event, while others will feel intensely sad and angry at times and at other times will act as if the disaster never happened.

Youth are often confused about what has happened and about their feelings. However, don't be surprised if some youth or young adults don't seem to be affected by what they have seen and heard. Not everyone has immediate reactions; some have delayed reactions that show up days, weeks, or even months later, and some may never have a reaction.

Talking about what happened

• Listen to and accept your children's feelings.
• Give honest, simple, brief answers to their questions.
• Make sure they understand your answers and the meaning you intend.
• Use words or phrases that won't confuse youth or make the world more frightening.
• Create opportunities for youth and young adults to talk with each other about what happened and how they are feeling.
• Give your child an honest explanation if you are feeling so upset you don't want to talk about what happened. You may want to take "time out" and ask a trusted family friend to help.
• If youth or young adults keep asking the same question over and over again it is because they are trying to understand; trying to make sense out of the disruption and confusion in their world. Younger children will not understand that death is permanent, so their repeated inquiries are because they expect everything to return to normal.
• If the child feels guilty, ask him or her to explain what happened. Listen carefully to whether he or she attaches a sense of responsibility to some part of the description. Explain the facts of the situation and emphasize that no one, not even them, could have prevented it.
• Let the school help - The student’s teacher can be sensitive to changes in the youth or young adult’s behavior and will be able to respond in a helpful way.
• Even if you feel the world is an unsafe place, you can reassure your child by saying, "The event is over. Now we'll do everything possible to stay safe, and together we can help get things back to normal."
• Notice when youth and young adults have questions and want to talk.
• Be especially loving and supportive; children need you at this time.

When To Seek Professional Help Youth and young adults are amazingly flexible, even though they can be deeply affected by trauma or losses. Sometimes a youth or young adult can be helped by a counselor who can provide a safe place to talk about what happened and their feelings. Getting professional help is a good idea if a child shows any of the following changes for longer than three months following the trauma:

• Behavior or academic problems at school. • Angry outbursts. • Withdrawal from usual social activities or play with other children. • Frequent nightmares or other sleep disturbances. • Physical problems such as nausea, headaches, weight gain or loss. • Intense anxiety or avoidance behavior that is triggered by reminders of the event. • Depression or a sense of hopelessness about life or the future. • Alcohol or drug use problems. • Dangerous risk-taking behavior. • Continued worry about the event as a primary focus in life.

Certain events may make a youth or young adult more vulnerable to having difficulty. If a youth or young adult has experienced a recent loss such as a divorce, a death of someone who was close, or a move to a new neighborhood, he or she may feel particularly overwhelmed by the trauma. A traumatic event can reactivate the emotions associated with previous traumas, which can be overpowering.

Seeing a counselor does not mean that a youth or young adult is "mentally ill" or that you have failed to support him or her. Following a trauma, many adults and children have found that it is helpful to talk with a counselor who has specialized training in post-traumatic reactions and can help them understand and deal with how they are feeling.

NOTE: The American Red Cross helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Last year, almost a million volunteers and 35,000 employees helped victims of almost 75,000 disasters; taught lifesaving skills to millions; and helped U.S. service members separated from their families stay connected. The Red Cross is not a government agency; it relies on donations of time, money, and blood to do its work.