Fire drills are a necessary part of school safety, but for some students—especially those with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)—they can be incredibly overwhelming. The combination of loud alarms, unexpected transitions, crowded hallways, and pressure to follow instructions can create a perfect storm of stress and confusion.
Many students with FASD experience challenges with sensory processing, transitions, emotional regulation, and memory. These are all areas that fire drills tend to activate. Without the right supports in place, what’s intended as a safety procedure can quickly lead to distress, shutdowns, or meltdowns.
The good news is that a few proactive strategies can make a big difference. The visual shared above outlines simple, compassionate approaches that educators and caregivers can use to support students with sensory needs before, during, and after a fire drill. These strategies don’t take a lot of time or resources—but they do take intention.
Why Fire Drills Are Especially Hard for Students with FASD
Students with FASD often live with a unique mix of brain-based differences that impact how they experience the world. For example:
• Loud alarms may be physically painful or deeply unsettling.
• A sudden change to routine—like being pulled from class to line up outside—can trigger anxiety or refusal.
• Crowds can feel unsafe, confusing, or overstimulating.
• Processing spoken instructions in the moment may be delayed or completely blocked when the nervous system is in high alert.
• After it’s all over, students may need extra time and space to return to baseline.
These aren’t behaviour problems. They’re nervous system responses. And the more we can anticipate them, the better we can support students through them.
What Educators and Caregivers Can Do
Here are a few practical supports that can be built into planning:
• Offer noise-canceling headphones or earplugs when the alarm is expected. This can significantly reduce panic.
• Use visual prep tools like a social story or a “countdown to the drill” visual to help the student prepare.
• Assign a trusted adult to stay close and guide the student through the routine.
• Give short, clear, and repeated directions before and during the drill.
• Practice the drill in a smaller group if needed, to build confidence.
• Create a calm-down plan for after the drill—a quiet space, sensory tool, or time with a familiar adult can help the student regulate and recover.
These aren’t just strategies for fire drills. They’re examples of how we can approach all school routines with a lens of compassion and predictability—something that benefits every student.
A Note to FASD Instructional Coaches
This is where your work comes in. Coaches are in a unique position to help schools move beyond compliance-based approaches and build truly supportive environments for students with FASD. Fire drills are a small moment in the school year—but they’re also a good test of how well we’re planning for regulation, inclusion, and safety.
Here are a few ways you can use this resource in your work:
• Bring this topic into PD conversations—especially when talking about trauma-informed classrooms or inclusive planning.
• Help schools develop individual fire drill plans for students who need extra support. Collaborate with staff and caregivers to make sure everyone’s on the same page.
• Encourage school leaders to include sensory supports and recovery time in their emergency preparedness policies.
• Use real-life examples to help school teams connect the dots between regulation and safety—not just behaviour management.
It’s easy to overlook moments like fire drills when planning for students with FASD—but they matter. These small steps can prevent big dysregulations, and more importantly, they show students that we see them, understand them, and care enough to meet them where they’re at.
I need a coach to teach our school how to help my daughter.
Hi Sue, please connect directly with the Project Lead, Lisa at lisa@rogozinsky.org.