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| Pitt collaborates on project to re-establish calm in lives of Hurricane Katrina’s younger survivors |
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(From Pitt Chronicle Newspaper of Pittsburgh University) December 12, 2005 Issue By Natasha M. Surles The floodwaters have receded and the TV camera crews have moved on, but thousands of Hurricane Katrina’s survivors remain displaced and continue to struggle with traumatic stress. To re-establish calm in the lives of the hurricane’s younger victims—especially those with such disabilities as autism and neurological impairments—Pitt’s School of Education is collaborating with the Sewickley, Pa.-based Watson Institute, which specializes in educating children with special needs, on Project Reassure. Organized by Mary Margaret Kerr, a professor in the school’s Department of Administrative and Policy Studies, Project Reassure trains adults to recognize symptoms requiring special help and support. The project also teaches parents, teachers, and caregivers simple and effective ways to reassure children suffering from acute stress reactions as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Additionally, Project Reassure assists adults in helping children who face the added burden of living far from home. “Every child copes with stressful experiences differently,” Kerr pointed out. “Youth exposed to an unexpected event such as Hurricane Katrina can experience emotional, cognitive, physical, or behavioral stress reactions. Often, there can be spikes in unwanted behaviors such as nervousness, irritability, inflexibility, and fearfulness. Some children may have more difficulty returning to normalcy than others.” Kerr recruited a volunteer team of more than 20 mental health specialists, writers, crisis responders, educators, and other professionals from around the nation to develop intervention techniques and strategies to help children cope with the stress and trauma of tragic experiences. The resources are posted at www.projectreassure.org. Project Reassure techniques—including music and play activities, as well as classroom exercises—can be adapted to other traumatic events such as violent crimes and the onset of disease, said Kerr. “So, the work efforts of this project will continue to assist children in the future,” she said. Pitt education school dean Alan Lesgold noted, “In a major disaster such as Hurricane Katrina, people suddenly need so many different things. What Mary Margaret Kerr has done is to recognize a need that wasn’t being addressed on an adequate scale, something she could help to serve.” To donate to Project Reassure, phone 412-749-2868 or mail contributions to: The Watson Institute, Project Reassure, 301 Camp Meeting Rd., Sewickley, PA, 15413. |
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