School shooter drills

[PigletForTwiglets]

I have a young teenager who has been properly traumatised by one of these "prepare for a school shooter" drills. They were not warned/told it was a drill (and nor were the parents). They genuinely thought they were going to die, and have essentially developed PTSD as a result. They have had to stop going to school (temporarily, I hope). Has anyone else had this happen? It seems to me to be somewhere between ridiculous and actively abusive. Have other kids found these things traumatic, too?
TIA

At one school I used to hire they used to test the teachers during fire drills.

They would pre-warn one or two children that it was going to happen and that child would hide somewhere to check if the staff were doing the roll call/searches properly.

Just to clarify I don't just do them with reception, I mean the school does them and reception take part without any issue.

This would give me a heart attack but such a good idea. We had a false alarm lockdown drill at lunchtime before, never been so panicked in my life.

Thank you all for your thoughts.

To those questioning the the use of the term PTSD, I'm not using it lightly. She is exhibiting signs of it. And the technical criteria for the activating event involve the belief that one is at risk of serious harm, rather than a genuinely life-endangering event. So it is perfectly possible to develop it after a drill.

For those asking about pre-existing problems, my DC is certainly on the sensitive side, and tends to know/learn a lot of "facts" about events like school shootings and natural disasters. They have had some much lower-key issues with anxiety, which they were previously managing well. This drill has taken things to an entirely new level.

Thanks again.

@PigletForTwiglets I'm sorry but PTSD is an extremely serious diagnosis and not given lightly. I cannot imagine a psychiatrist diagnosing your DD with this with the details you've given. I don't want to belittle your DDs feelings, as they are completely valid, but there has to be something else. It is just not normal to have this reaction to a simple drill that millions of kids in the UK experience. It sounds like something else was the Jenga tower and this was the last block that got pulled. I strongly suggest you see a specialist.

The school made the children believe they could be shot?? That's a bit sick.

Fire drills are more like 'calmly walk to the playground'

Our school did a lockdown drill a few weeks ago, parents were told in advance. My daughter has severe anxiety so I told her so she could be prepared.

They don't advise for fire drills but I feel that's different, you're calmly leaving the building. But in lockdown drills, you're closing curtains and hiding under the desks, staying silent.

DDs' school never mention guns for lockdown drills.
Are you sure your school did?

My feelings exactly. Why would schools put hundreds of children, SOME of whom may always be susceptible to these reactions, through deliberately scary events in this way?

They're called lockdown drill at my school and not exactly traumatic leading the PTSD.

Ab alarm goes off similar to fire alarm but a different sound. We lock all doors and windows. Pull blinds on all doors and windows and sit in middle of room in silence until a member of leadership comes to say it it over.

Admittedly when doing them I hope to god I would never do it for real. But I'm not sure about it causing PTSD. Is your child particularly sensitive. If a similar event to a fire drill had cause PTSD then I think you need professional help.

With respect, you do not know the presentation I am describing. As it happens, I am qualified in this field, so am - as I said before - not saying this lightly.

I'm pretty sure, yes.

I think you miss the point. You and the children know it's a drill.

The OPs child didn't know it was a drill and the school made them believe it was real. Don't you think that's quite scary for a child?

If they really made the kids believe their lives were at risk then that was very ill advised and I completely agree with you.
There are ways of doing lockdown drills without terrifying the pupils.

OP you need to go and talk to the school.

It's likely that some teacher/staff member made a flippant remark which coupled with your child's imagination and anxiety triggered them.

I agree that this most definitely could be traumatic for some children. And what the definition of a traumatic experience is.

As for PTSD it kind of depends on when this drill happened. Hopefully it was very recent and the stress symptoms will work their way out. If it was recent, try to get DC out and engaging with the world/nature/fresh air/exercise. Watch funny movies. Don't make a big deal out of it to her either. These things aren't to diminish her feelings about it, but to give her a better chance to process it.

The idea that she's suffering because she might have other issues, well one word here: safeguarding. It's not responsible to expose children to potentially difficult experiences unnecessarily. These drills can be done in a variety of different ways, some better than others. The school has a duty of care to all children, including the many who have underlying mental health issues. Those children don't deserve to suffer for the sake of a "lockdown drill" (wtf is that name anyway! Lockdown?!).

OP you should bring this up with the school. I don't see the point in criticising the principle of the drill, but how they notify the children can be different.

I hope the trauma symptoms disappear soon.

I've never ever heard of them being announced as a drill in secondary schools.

With respect if you are in thus field are you projecting onto dc? Also as in this field you will know to go to a specialist if something as simple as a alarm drill has caused this extreme reaction in your dc.

You're pretty sure? Without meaning to sound curt that's a huge accusation to throw about without knowing for certain. The much more logical situation is your child has jumped to this conclusion due to her interest in the subject. I'd bet money on the school not actually using the word shooter, gun or anything of that ilk. They would have said lockdown.

I think you need to shut down the ptsd talk really - if they did actually have ptsd you’d be seeking some pretty serious help for them, not on MN.

Younger children are told it is practice for something like an out of control dog in the school grounds.

A school in Birmingham did go into lockdown recently because there really were dangerous dogs loose nearby, near to home time. All their procedures seem to have worked well, showing why it is necessary to rehearse these things.

Six injured in dog attacks near Birmingham primary school - BBC News

@Mynameisntrelevant1 But it wasn't a simple alarm drill? Why are you purposely being obtuse? I know you're trying to minimise this and make the OP look silly but the only one looking silly is you.

Being told there's an active shooter on school grounds is not the same as a fire drill.

They don't need to be announced as a drill. They do need to be discussed beforehand in the context of dangerous dog / chemical spill or whatever, not in the context of gunmen.

it may be helpful to be announced as in 'in the next couple of weeks we'll be doing this'.

I don't think it's actually been explained what happened? Were they told 'There is a shooter in the school' and had to hide etc. believing it was real? Was it 'We are going to do a drill as if there was a shooter in the school?' Did the teachers actually say there was a shooter in the school?