Evacuation guidance
Here are implications for emergency school bus evacuations for students affected by TBI or near drowning:
â— Students who are able to walk will have trouble with their balance. If they are allowed to walk, close physical safeguards and assistance are necessary.
â— These students will have difficulty with depth perception. They will not be able to judge the height of the bus steps or the emergency exit from the bus. Make sure they are not allowed to be alone at the emergency exit. They might think they can jump off the bus easily.
â— These students may have seizure activity. The commotion of an evacuation could set off a seizure.
If a student starts to have a seizure during an evacuation, bus staff must remember to time the seizure. Depending on the time involved in the evacuation, the student may have to be evacuated while still in the seizure. Be sure to protect the student’s head and extremities during the evacuation.
â— A student who has a total disability due to a TBI or near drowning may be an older student, especially if he or she survived the accident years ago.
It may be necessary to have three adults on the bus to evacuate an older and heavier student safely. Be sure to consult a physical therapist on how to safely perform a three-person lift.
â— These students will have problems with impulse control and attention span. For those reasons, it is important that evacuation drills be practiced repeatedly to assist the students in learning to follow the directions established.
Summary
TBI and near drowning accidents can have long-term effects on students and their families. The emotional impact of either of these incidents is tremendous, because these students were typically normally developing students to begin with.
The evacuation will become more difficult as the students become older, taller and larger. As noted, it may take three adults to safely transfer a teenage student.
As part of pre-evacuation planning and training, instruction by a physical therapist on how to perform a three-person lift is critical.
Jean M. Zimmerman is supervisor of occupational and physical therapy for the School District of Palm Beach County (Fla.). She is the author of Evacuating Students With Disabilities, a comprehensive manual and training course written in conjunction with the Pupil Transportation Safety Institute. The program can be purchased at www.ptsi.org or by calling (800) 836-2210.
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