Disaster shelters are generally staged in high school gyms, churches, community shelters. As you can see, individuals are basically placed "on top" of each other, in a relatively small space.
Naturally, I would imagine that a cluttered, cramped, noisy disaster shelter would be extremely stressful even for a neurotypical individual-who's stressed out anyway worrying about their home and worldly possessions.
Add autism to that mix. In most cases, there is no way that an autistic individual with sensitivity to noise, bright lights, crowds, is going to be able to function in a disaster shelter. Look at the picture. They're all on top of each other. Stressful enough for a neurotypical person-forget someone with sensory issues!
So what can be done? FEMA and the Red Cross certainly do try their hardest, I'll give them that. However, the bottom line is that forcing individuals with autism into a mainstream disaster shelter, is, hands down, going to be disastrous.
I understand that disasters, often the wrath of nature, do happen. Evacuations are necessary. But what about individuals that will not or can not stay in a loud, crowded, disaster shelter. What do we do?
Hotels are a better enough option, as well as staying with family and friends out of the reach of the disaster. However, I do believe that FEMA, etc. should take note of this-what should be done in the event of a wide scale disaster with individuals that are unable to go to a shelter?
As a member of a state defense force whose primary mission is disaster relief, I actually got this idea during my last drill weekend. I'm planning on bringing this up to some of my superiors-and see where we can go from there. From what I can see, disaster shelters are stressful enough for neurotypicals-never mind someone with sensory issues in the first place!
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