Boon, Helen J., Brown, Lawrence H., Tsey, Komla, Speare, Richard, Pagliano, Paul, Usher, Kim, and Clark, Brenton (2011) School disaster planning for children with disabilities: a critical review of the literature. International journal of Special Education , 26 (3). pp. 223-237.

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Abstract

Human systems have to adapt to climate change and the natural disasters predicted to increase in frequency as a result. These disasters have both direct and indirect health effects. Certain groups, the poor, the elderly, children and those with disabilities are set to be more seriously impacted by disasters because of their greater inherent vulnerability. Adaptation to the health impacts of disasters requires the cooperation and input from all sectors of government and civil society, including schools. This critical literature review examined the body of peer reviewed literature published in English addressing school disaster planning policies with a particular focus on children with disabilities. Results show that children and youth with disabilities are especially vulnerable to disasters because of socioeconomic and health factors inherent to disabilities. While schools in the U.S. have policies to deal with disasters, these policies are neither comprehensive nor inclusive. The empirical evidence base from which they are developed is severely limited. No publications were identified that represent the current disaster planning of schools in countries like Australia, the UK or Canada. Recommendations for future research are outlined to bridge knowledge gaps and help establish appropriate and inclusive school disaster policies for children with disabilities.

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