Developmental psychologist talks impact school shootings have on children

Our top story out of Bend, Oregon, a school shooting that occurred around 1 p.m. Pacific time. And at this point, we understand at least five people believed to be dead. And reports out of Bend say one of those individuals was an adult. We don't know if that's a teacher or school administrator, police officer. We don't yet know. But we believe that some of the victims, some of the five at this point are children. A school shooting that took place, first call came in at 12.59 p.m. Police were on scene by 1.02. The shooter shot dead, but we don't know if that was by police, by a bystander, self-inflicted. We're not sure. All those details will come out as Bend, Oregon police continue to investigate this tragedy that occurred on this, what appeared to be a completely normal Thursday in a quiet suburb three hours outside of Portland, Oregon. We want to bring in tonight Dr. Nava Sillin. She is a developmental psychologist. Dr. Sillin, thank you so much for joining us tonight. I wanted to talk to you about the psychological impact that something like this has not only on a school community, but on the greater Bend community as a whole. As I was watching and listening to coverage, including local stations out in Bend, they were talking about what a tight-knit community the Bend, Oregon community is, only about 100,000 people. And they say this is the kind of place that people move to when they want to get away from the stressors of city life, big city life. This is the place that they choose because it's safe and it's tight-knit and everybody knows everybody and apparently the schools are good. And so that's why you choose a place like this. So I have to imagine that even at this early stage of this situation, the impact that this is going to have both on the school community and the community at large is just immeasurable. I agree. I think especially when you're in a safe kind of protected area, it can make it all the more upsetting and shocking. And we know that, unfortunately, schools who go through these horrible tragedies, there's a lot of anxiety and depression and post-traumatic stress that can result. It can result in things like absenteeism, turnover by faculty and staff, people even moving away from the neighborhood. There are a lot of different pieces that can relate and just overall kind of anticipatory fear of this happening again or this happening in other locations. When I think about this being an elementary school, my first thought is, oh, my goodness, like kindergartners, first graders, second graders, you know, they're not babies, but they're they're not even, you know, kids. They're in this in-between stage, and they're so innocent to have to deal with something so advanced, so adult, so violent like this. Yeah, you know, I think it's really important for parents to open up the dialogue with their children, keep that dialogue pathway open. I think parents need to be really careful not to have media on at all times because we want to be very thoughtful about any graphic images or things that are going to kind of be seared in their memory. So it's important to be that resource for children, but not oversaturate them with too much media or difficult photos. But we also want to really reassure kids that this is rare that this happens overall. And we do so many things in schools to stay safe. We have security in our buildings. We have teachers and administrators and policemen who are trying to protect us at all times. So giving kids a sense of their own safety about how rare something like this is. And, you know, all the drills that they have in the schools, those are ways to really offer extra protection and extra safety, because it's really nice for us to be proactive when something like this seems so out of our control. How do you help these children and these families get the images of whatever they saw today out of their minds? How do you heal or shake the fear of what happened today from them so that they can continue to have somewhat normal school experiences? I mean, I'm thinking about just like when we when we covered Sandy Hook, you know, you have a first grader, a second grader that goes through that there at the beginning of their academic experience. They have years ahead of them that they're going to be sitting in classrooms with drills meant to protect you from the very violence that they experienced. That's why we have to be super, super proactive about making sure that schools have really strong mental health support, mental health resources, that they have the security drills so that the students really know exactly what to do. The more students can feel in control, that they know what to do in an emergency, that there are places to go when they are struggling with anxiety, when they're struggling with, you know, challenging thoughts or concerns. Knowing that there are places to go and knowing who to connect with, whether it's a parent, whether it's a teacher, whether it's a mental health counselor, psychologist, social worker, it's really important to build up those resources for the kids so that they really feel that they're being protected and that their safety is being kept in mind. Do those lockdown drills, now that we're in what people are calling the lockdown generation, these kids are part of the lockdown generation, is it do those drills help mitigate these fears or do they also add to the anxiety that something like this could materialize you know i think for some kids who have already been through traumas the drills can kind of sometimes bring back some of that trauma but i think for most kids knowing exactly what they need to be doing if something like this happens i think it gives them a sense of safety, a sense that the school cares. They know what protocols to follow. And overall, I think it's a very healthy, safe thing that kids appreciate. Again, if they've been through other traumas, it can definitely, you know, have a post-trauma effect on them. But schools are usually pretty cautious about those students. The students they know who are going to take it a little more harshly are going to have a harder time with the drills. And ideally, schools look out for those kids ahead of time and make sure that they have the support they need to get through those drills more easily. You know, and lastly, we're focusing on the kids, of course, because this is an elementary school, but we know our schools are made up of a lot more than children. There are teachers who are our first and last line of defense. I mean, as a mom of three, you're a mom of six, seven, seven, seven kids. So you've gone through this even more times And I have I mean, in the wake of these school shootings, I look at my children's teachers differently because when I give them off to them in the morning, I think you're it. You are there. Oftentimes they're their best chance for surviving a tragedy in the classroom as crippling as that is. And so we have to think also about the adults that need to recover or find some peace in this, not just the children that they serve. Absolutely. And having served on the mental health teams of many schools, I will say that teachers are really incredible. It's incredible how they rise to the occasion. But we need to ensure that our teachers are also having self-care, that they also have mental health resources provided to them if need be. They know where to go when they need that extra support because they are caring a whole lot. And we want to ensure that they, too, have the strength to protect the children and to be the best teachers they can be and comfortable and happy and able to really do their wonderful jobs. All right, Dr. Novosel, and we really appreciate your perspective on this tragic story. But it's nice to put it into perspective and help us all kind of wrap our minds around this.