• National Education Association

Crisis Communications Guide & Toolkit - a wealth of insightful information about a range of responses to trauma and appropriate therapeutic activities.

Emotional First Aid - lots of solid suggestions for the care of self and others. Also a detailed guide to the therapeutic activity of holding a memorial service - can be easily adjusted to become an expression of support and a memorial to our lost innocence.

http://www.nea.org/crisis/b2home5.html#Emotional

http://www.nea.org/crisis/

• Cooperative Extension - University of Illinois

While mostly focused on responding to natural disasters, this site offers some readily adaptable activities for the classroom. In addition, a table is provided which quickly reviews age appropriateness of activities. "Children, Stress and Natural Disasters: School Activities for Children" is particularly helpful.

www.ag.uiuc.edu/~disaster/teacher/csndact2.html

• Sesame Street Workshop

Sesame Street Workshop has developed a website entitled Tragic Times, Healing Words with resources on helping children cope with disaster.  The site provides useful tool for parents and teachers.

http://www.sesameworkshop.org/parents/advice/article/0,4125,49560,00.html

• National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)

NASP and its National Emergency Assistance Team (NEAT) have gathered practical strategies and coping techniques that can be easily understood and used by parents, teachers, mental health professionals and members of the faith-based community to assist children as they try to understand and deal with the events that took place in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. NASP has also posted a special set of disaster counseling resources at this site, including a link to the handout for parents entitled "Disaster: Helping Children Cope".

http://www.nasponline.org/NEAT/crisis_0911.html

• Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS)

CMHS is part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). CMHS has a menu of relevant documents which can be downloaded from its web site: "After Disaster: A Guide for Parents and Teachers," "How to Help Children After a Disaster," "After a Disaster: What Teens Can Do," and "Disaster Counseling." Most of these articles are also available (from that site) in Spanish versions.

http://www.mentalhealth.org/schoolviolence/parents

• UCLA School Mental Health Project / Center for Mental Health in Schools

For details on responding to crisis with children, see "Quick Find" on this website; go to the "Center Response" section and scroll to "Crisis Prevention and Response." One of the things you will find cited is the resource "Responding to a Crisis at a School" which contains specific guidelines for responding and follow-up in the weeks to come. There is a wealth of helpful material here, as well as technical assistance.

http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu

 

• American Psychological Association (APA)

APA's Helping web-site includes a web page entitled "How Therapy Helps: Managing Traumatic Stress: Tips for Recovering From Disasters and Other Traumatic Events" that contains information on What happens to people after a disaster or other traumatic event? How do people respond differently over time? How should I help myself and my family? How do I take care of children's special needs? When should I seek professional help? and how may I use APA as a resource?

http://helping.apa.org/therapy/traumaticstress.html

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