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Emergency, Safety and Disaster Planning

It is important to have a well thought out plan ready for your child with special needs in the event you are faced with a sudden emergency or disaster. An emergency plan should address your child's specific needs, including medication, personal care, adaptive equipment, transportation and communication challenges. Emergency planning includes being prepared for both your child's medical emergencies as well as possible environmental disasters. How would you handle:

Sudden trips to the emergency room and interactions with healthcare providers who may be unfamiliar with your child and your child's medical history
Lack of housing, water, electricity, telephone, refrigeration
No local access to prescription refills or other needed health products
Confinement to home or evacuation to a shelter
Limited health care and emergency rescue services
Lack of transportation

The Center for Infants and Children with Special Needs at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center provides information and resources to help families and health care professionals prepare for emergencies and disasters.

Emergency Information Forms

Good planning should anticipate sudden changes in your child's condition requiring a trip to the emergency room, as well as weather related and/or other environmental emergencies. Having personal information, medical history, medications, doctors, pharmacies and relevant phone numbers to show health care workers in an emergency is one way of ensuring that your child receives the proper care when it is needed most. Communicating your child's health information is vital to accurate medical decision making.

Parent Notebook, developed by the Center for Infants and Children with Special Needs at Cincinnati Children's, can help you organize important health care and support information
American Academy of Pediatrics provides samples of different types of caregiver notebooks
EMS Medical Emergency Form / Letter
EMS Emergency Information Form for Children with Special Needs, developed by the American College of Emergency Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics
MedicAlert maintains detailed patient medical files for a membership fee and can provide the information on a portable computer flash drive, called E-HealthKEY, for an additional charge
All About Me Form describes your child's likes, dislikes, developmental abilities and behavioral challenges

Emergency Plan

Environmental emergencies such as fires, storms, floods or other natural disasters present additional challenges. Suddenly, the basic services you depend upon for power, food, water, heat, cooling, transportation, communication and/or medical supplies may not be available. Everyone in your home should know what to do in an emergency.

Create a support network including relatives, friends, caregivers and neighbors and keep them informed about where to find your child's health information, medical supplies, equipment and health provider contact numbers
Contact your local utilities if your child depends on electricity or gas. Ask them to flag your household to bring power back quickly and consider purchasing your own generator and battery backups

Utility Medical Emergency Form / Letter

Inform the local emergency services, such as the fire department and rescue squad, about your child's condition and needs so they can prepare and respond quickly
Your local fire department or emergency response agency can help you create an evacuation strategy and you should practice it
Your child's school and bus transportation must have an emergency plan in place with a team member responsible for getting your child to safety
Every place your child goes on a regular basis should have an emergency plan, including child care centers, summer camps, respite and care providers

Supply Kit

Make sure that your child's medicine and important equipment are easy to grab if you have to leave suddenly. In addition to your general first aid kit, you should have the special supplies you might need, stored safely in a waterproof bag or container:

Copy of your Parent Notebook which should include your child's personal information, medical information and care plan and EMS Medical Emergency Form / Letter
Three week supply of medications, medical supplies and special dietary foods
Ask your doctor and pharmacist how to properly store medication that would normally require refrigeration
Backup power supply such as a generator for medical equipment, battery pack and car adaptor
Hand crank radio / flashlight that includes a cell phone charger
Extra eyeglasses, wheelchair and hearing aid batteries, if needed

Child Alarms and Locators

Keeping children safe is a challenge for parents and caregivers. Fortunately, there are specially designed alarms that provide a warning when a child wanders away. Some also provide a GPS screen to let you know exactly where your child is.

Brickhouse Child Safety has a child locator device and GPS tracking systems.
Care Trak perimeter alarm and locator package can alert you when your child wanders from your yard or your home.
My Precious Kid has child locator devices and door alarms.

Portable baby monitors (such as those made by Fisher Price and Graco) can be worn or carried to provide extra surveillance. They can help you hear if a warning beep or alarm goes off on lifesaving equipment should you need to briefly leave the room or unintentionally fall asleep. Some models also have a video screen and camera. While these monitors are convenient, they are not meant to replace direct observation.

Child Identification Products

Several options are available for child identification including wristbands, shoe tags and temporary tattoos:

Kids Travel Card has child safety ID cards.
Kids Vital ID's has identification and medical alert wristbands and bracelets.
My Precious Kid has a variety of ID options including wristbands, bracelets and shoe tags.
Safety Tat is a temporary tattoo that is applied with water and lasts from 1 to 5 days.