Emergency preparedness is a critical component of school safety, but for autistic students, fire drills and lockdown procedures can present unique challenges that require specialized understanding and support. With 1 in 36 children diagnosed with autism in the U.S. and about 13% of students with disabilities participating in special education services in 2022-23 having autism, an increase from 5% in 2008-09, schools must adapt their emergency protocols to ensure all students can participate safely and effectively.
The Growing Need for Autism-Informed Emergency Procedures
The statistics surrounding autism in schools are striking and demand attention. About 1 in 31 (3.2%) children aged 8 years has been identified with ASD according to estimates from CDC’s ADDM Network, while recent data from the Centers for Disease Control reveals that 1 in 22 four-year-old children in California are on the autism spectrum, significantly surpassing the national average.
More concerning is the inclusion gap: only 41% of students with autism spend 80% or more of their school day in general education classes, compared to 67% of all students with disabilities. This disparity makes it even more crucial that emergency procedures accommodate autistic students across all educational settings.
Understanding the Unique Challenges Autistic Students Face
Sensory Overload and Hypersensitivity
Students identified with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) can be especially vulnerable during safety drills and exercises, as they are often challenged by oversensitivity to sensory disruption and changes in routine. Naturally, many school drills and safety exercises often include significant noise, changing or chaotic visual stimuli, and alterations to the everyday schedule. These disruptions can make the process anxiety provoking and even dangerous for students with ASD and those around them.
The science behind sensory processing differences helps explain these challenges. Sensory overload can feel like intense anxiety, a need to escape the situation or difficulty communicating. When the brain has to put all of its resources into sensory processing, it can shut off other functions, like speech, decision making and information processing.
The Impact on Learning and Behavior
Research demonstrates significant impacts of sensory differences on autistic students’ school experience. Only one in four autistic students feels happy at school, a statistic that underscores the urgent need for better support systems. Despite considerable heterogeneity in the experiences perceived as enjoyable or distressing, parents and teachers reported that sensory experiences at school were frequently negative. Data indicate that it was largely negative sensory experiences that impacted learning, in turn causing distraction, anxiety and limited participation.
Predictability and Routine Disruption
For most students, the high-pitched intermittent blast of the fire alarm is simply a minor, temporary irritant. But it is anything but “simple” to students who struggle with challenges like auditory sensitivity, schedule rigidity and/or anxiety, for whom this routine school safety procedure can become a complicated and, oftentimes, painful ordeal.
Fire Drill Challenges and Solutions
The Reality of Fire Drill Responses
Many of us know that individuals with autism have particular problems with fire drills for a variety of reasons–the noise, the lights, the change in schedule, the crowded halls…and the list goes on. Over time I’ve worked with a lot of students who fear fire drills, some to the point where they live in fear that one will occur.
More alarmingly, without effective preparation, a student with autism could suffer injury or death due to elopement or tantrums in the middle of a true fire evacuation. This stark reality emphasizes why proper preparation isn’t just about comfort—it’s about safety.
Evidence-Based Strategies for Fire Drill Preparation
Pre-Teaching and Social Stories
Social stories or other pictorial guides are highly encouraged for teaching drill expectations to most students with ASD. The social story can be discussed and then practiced in actual locations with the student. Since many people with autism are visual learners, instructional videos, social stories, read-a-louds, and visual supports (words or pictures) may help teach safety concepts such as what a fire looks like, what happens if we touch it, fire safety equipment, and who to call during an emergency.
Gradual Desensitization Programs
Successful fire drill preparation often involves systematic desensitization. One effective approach includes:
- Month 1: Allow the child to observe from outside while other students practice
- Month 2: Have the child stand by the door with noise-canceling headphones
- Month 3: Practice without headphones but remain near the door
- Subsequent months: Gradually move further from the exit until the child can participate with classmates
Sensory Accommodations
Each student with ASD should have an assigned “go kit” (or small emergency bag). This resource could include noise cancelling headphones, favorite comfort items, snacks, and stress relief or sensory fidget items. Ear plugs or noise-cancelling headphones to be worn during the drill or actual emergency can reduce overstimulation for many students with ASD.
Lockdown Procedures: Specialized Considerations
The Complexity of Lockdown Drills for Autistic Students
School lockdown and active shooter drills cause stress, anxiety, and even trauma in neurodivergent students with ADHD and autism. For most young children, it is difficult to transition abruptly from their daily routine and remain huddled with classmates while expected to stay silent for an extended period of time. This sentiment especially holds true as it pertains to classrooms with young children with special needs, specifically children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who may prefer predictable routines and may have difficulties straying from them.
The Research Gap
As it stands, schools are planning and executing lockdown drills with variability with little to no planning dedicated to diverse learners such as young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At the same time, a vast research base that supports evidence-based practices for learners with a diagnosis of ASD exists, yet these known supports are not being utilized to prepare them for these life-threatening emergencies.
Best Practices for Lockdown Drill Support
Creating Safe Spaces
Some educators have even recommended having a small pop-up tent (or similar structure) available in the corner of a classroom, one that can be quickly popped up for a student with ASD to crawl inside during lockdown drills or shelter-in-place exercises.
Communication Adaptations
“My son has invisible disabilities. If you made a general announcement to the class, it would not occur to you that he would miss it,” Provencher says. “I can’t 100 percent say that the drill was not communicated to him, but I can say it was not communicated in a way in which he could understand.”
Legal Requirements and IEP Considerations
ADA Compliance
Educators can support best practice and legally defensible school safety efforts of their school by reminding colleagues about the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA; 1990). In the ADA, Chapter 7 Addendum 2, it is noted that emergency sheltering must not exclude or deny individuals with disabilities. Unprepared schools may be in violation of this ADA expectation.
IEP Integration
Students with ASD or other disabilities must have emergency preparedness objectives built into their Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or 504 plans. Students with ASD or other disabilities must have emergency preparedness objectives built into their Individualized Education Programs (IEP) or 504 plans. While the school’s overall systematic school safety plan is a good starting point, the student’s IEP or 504 plan must specify what each individual student may need in an emergency situation or during specific safety exercises such as an evacuation, lockdown, or shelter-in-place.
IEP Considerations Should Include:
As individualized safety and emergency plans are developed, IEP team members are encouraged to consider the student’s cognitive ability, communication ability, sensory needs, mobility, medical needs or medication, and ability to manage emotions.
Practical Implementation Strategies
Staff Training and Preparation
Adults are encouraged to practice projecting a serious yet calm demeanor during drills or other emergency situations. Most students in the general population will look to the adults in the room for verbal and nonverbal emotional modeling of expectations during a response. While reading social cues can be a challenge for most students with ASD, a calm, measured, and practiced approach modeled by adults will help convey the emotional self-regulation expected.
Environmental Modifications
Advance Notice and Preparation
Luckily, my school is great about notifying the staff about the days that we will have an emergency drill. They will sometimes even let us know around what time the drill will be. This advance notice allows for crucial preparation time.
Daily Schedule Integration
Finally, I change our first/then schedule to reflect when the emergency drill will occur. This is our daily schedule Google Slide that I project onto our whiteboard throughout each day so my students are already familiar with this. I have found that this helps decrease anxiety and behaviors before and during the emergency drills.
Comfort Items and Tools
My students get restless and bored during this time so my assistants and I always make sure to pack enough sensory tools such as noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys, or preferred reinforcers for this time. We keep them in containers and pass them out as students are waiting outside.
Community Partnerships
Interacting with your neighborhood firefighters in a non-emergency situation can have many benefits. Visit your local fire department so your child can be more familiar with the gear, uniforms, and vehicles. By ensuring that the firefighter is not a “stranger” and that their appearance is not unfamiliar or frightening may increase the likelihood that your child will respond positively to them during an emergency situation.
The Importance of Not Avoiding Drills
Why Full Participation Matters
Sometimes very well-meaning educators will modify or circumvent this process for special education students in an effort to keep them calm or avoid anxiety or behavioral outbursts. The problem with this is that we don’t want to find out how a student will react to a fire or emergency the first time when there is an actual emergency. All students need to know and be able to comply with the fire drill procedures. If they don’t have the skills to comply, this needs to be addressed in the Individualized Education Plan (IEP) as a safety goal with specific objectives to build this skill.
Real-World Statistics
The National Fire Prevention Association reports that there are more than 3200 fires in schools each year, making fire drill preparation not just a compliance issue but a genuine safety necessity.
Building Long-Term Success
Home-School Collaboration
People with autism often require more individualized teaching methods and repeated practice; learning only through natural opportunities such as school fire prevention week is likely not enough. This reality necessitates consistent collaboration between families and schools.
Ongoing Assessment and Adaptation
“The IEP team must consider, among many factors, the student’s cognitive ability, sensory needs, mobility, independence and ability to manage emotions and behaviors in a less structured situation when time is a factor. At least as often as we review the IEP, the safety plan can and should be revised as need be.”
Technology and Innovation in Support
Assistive Communication
If your child does not use or struggles with speech to communicate, teach alternative ways for them to call for help. For example, your child could learn to blow a whistle to call a firefighter to them during an emergency.
Audio Desensitization Tools
School-Eaze is a CD that combines sounds that may be scary to kids, with rhythmic songs, lulling kids to a calm state with a song that explains the sound and then introduces them to it. The CD includes the sound of a school bell, changing classes, cafeteria, and fire drills.
Moving Forward: A Call to Action
The data is clear: autistic students face significant challenges during emergency drills, but with proper preparation, support, and understanding, these challenges can be overcome. Every student, regardless of ability, deserves an educational environment where they can thrive. Let us commit to creating supportive and inclusive spaces where students on the autism spectrum can reach their full potential alongside their peers.
Key Takeaways for Educators:
- Preparation is crucial: Use social stories, visual schedules, and advance notice to prepare autistic students
- Sensory accommodations are essential: Provide noise-canceling headphones, comfort items, and safe spaces
- IEP integration is legally required: Include emergency preparedness goals in all relevant educational plans
- Staff training matters: Ensure all personnel understand autism-specific needs during emergencies
- Don’t avoid—adapt: All students must participate in drills, but with appropriate modifications
For Parents:
- Advocate for your child: Ensure their IEP includes emergency preparedness objectives
- Practice at home: Familiarize your child with emergency sounds and procedures
- Communicate with schools: Share your child’s specific sensory needs and effective strategies
- Build community connections: Visit local fire departments to reduce stranger anxiety
The goal isn’t to make emergency drills easier—it’s to make them accessible. When we understand that sensory issues are common in people with autism and are even included in the diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder, we can move beyond one-size-fits-all approaches to create truly inclusive emergency preparedness programs.
By implementing these evidence-based strategies and maintaining a commitment to inclusion, schools can ensure that all students, including those with autism, are prepared to respond appropriately and safely during genuine emergencies. The lives and safety of our most vulnerable students depend on getting this right.
References
- National Association of School Psychologists. “School Safety Drills and Exercises for Students With Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD): Tips and Resources for Educators.” https://www.nasponline.org/resources-and-publications/resources-and-podcasts/school-safety-and-crisis/school-violence-resources/school-safety-drills-and-exercises-for-students-with-autism-spectrum-disorder-(asd)-tips-and-resources-for-educators
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “Data and Statistics on Autism Spectrum Disorder.” https://www.cdc.gov/autism/data-research/index.html
- Autism Classroom Resources. “Fire Drills and Students with Autism.” https://autismclassroomresources.com/fire-drills-and-students-with-autis/
- The Autism Helper. “How to Navigate Emergency Drills.” https://theautismhelper.com/how-to-navigate-emergency-drills/
- Pathfinders for Autism. “The Fire Drill Freak Out.” https://pathfindersforautism.org/articles/education/the-fire-drill-freak-out/
