Emergency Preparedness for Individuals with I/DD in Oregon

September is National Preparedness Month, and it is a good excuse to do the thing most of us keep postponing: getting ready for an emergency before one happens.

In Oregon, the realistic list is short but serious — power outages, winter storms, wildfire evacuations, and the earthquake we all know about. For individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, emergencies carry an extra layer: routines break suddenly, familiar places may be off-limits, and the noise and urgency of an emergency can be overwhelming on their own.

The good news is that preparedness is mostly a list of small, boring tasks — and small, boring tasks are very doable. This guide walks through the ones that matter most when someone in your household has I/DD.

We covered wildfire smoke days in detail in an earlier post; this one is about the broader toolkit — supplies, information, communication, and practice.

Start with a Go-Bag — Built for This Person

Every preparedness list starts with a go-bag: a packed bag you can grab if you need to leave home quickly. The standard contents apply to everyone — water, snacks, flashlight, first-aid kit, phone charger, copies of ID.

For an individual with I/DD, add the items that keep them regulated and safe:

Several days of medications, with a written schedule of what is taken when.
Comfort items that genuinely work — the specific headphones, the specific small toy or object, not substitutes.
Sensory supports: earplugs or ear defenders, sunglasses, a familiar-smelling small blanket.
Favorite shelf-stable snacks — an emergency is the wrong time for unfamiliar food battles.
A change of clothes the person actually likes wearing.
Copies of insurance cards, the medication list, and key phone numbers on paper, not just in a phone.

Pack the bag together if that works for the person — knowing what is inside makes the bag itself less scary. Store it where everyone, including support staff, knows to find it.

Make a One-Page 'About Me' Sheet

In an emergency, the person may be helped by someone who has never met them — a neighbor, a shelter volunteer, a first responder. A one-page sheet speaks for them when stress makes communication harder than usual.

Include:

Name, photo, and emergency contacts.
How the person communicates — spoken words, a device, gestures, behavior.
What helps when they are overwhelmed, and what makes things worse.
Medical needs: diagnoses, medications and timing, allergies.
Important routines and comfort items.
Anything a stranger could easily misread — for example, that the person may not respond to their name, may repeat phrases, or may run from loud noises.

Put a copy in the go-bag, one on the fridge, one with the support team. This sheet is worth an hour of your time — it is the highest-value document in this whole article.

Plan for Power Outages First

Outages are the emergency your family will actually experience, most likely this winter. For many individuals with I/DD, the hard part is not the dark — it is that everything familiar stops at once: screens, music, the hum of the house, the microwave that makes the usual snack.

A simple outage plan:

Flashlights or battery lanterns where the person can reach them — practice using them for fun before you need them.
A charged power bank reserved for the person's tablet or communication device.
A written or picture explanation ready to go: the power is off, the lights will come back, here is what we do while we wait.
Batteries for anything the person relies on for regulation — sound machines, fans.
If the person depends on powered medical equipment, talk to their provider now about backup power, and ask your utility about medical certificate programs that flag your home for priority restoration.

Know Your Evacuation Basics

Wildfire seasons have made evacuation a real possibility for much of Oregon. Oregon uses three evacuation levels: Level 1 means be ready, Level 2 means be set to leave at a moment's notice, and Level 3 means go now.

For your household plan:

Sign up for your county's emergency alerts, and know how you would hear a warning at night.
Decide in advance where you would go — a relative, a friend, a known motel — because familiar destinations beat unknown shelters for most individuals with I/DD.
Plan who helps the person pack and load, and what words you will use to explain what is happening.
If a public shelter becomes necessary, tell staff about the person's needs early — shelters can often provide a quieter corner.
Practice the first ten minutes of leaving: bag, shoes, car. Ten calm practiced minutes prevent the worst part of a real evacuation.

Practice Like It's a Routine, Not a Drill

The word drill can create anxiety. The move is to fold preparedness into ordinary routine, casually and repeatedly:

Use the flashlights during a fun at-home 'camping' evening.
Walk the exit route on a normal day, ending somewhere pleasant.
Practice the fire-alarm sound briefly at low stakes, paired with what we do when we hear it.
Let the person carry their own go-bag to the car once, just to see how it goes.
Re-check the bag together twice a year — restock snacks and update medication lists.

Repetition without pressure is the whole trick. A person who has done the steps five calm times has a real chance of doing them once under stress.

Put the Support Team in the Plan

If the person receives services, their support team is part of their emergency plan — make it explicit:

Show DSPs where the go-bag and the About Me sheet live.
Agree on who calls whom if something happens during a shift, and who the backup contact is.
Tell your day program how to reach you and what the person needs if an emergency happens mid-program — North Star Oregon's DSA teams keep family contact and support information at hand for exactly this reason.
If the person lives with roommates or receives in-home support, post the one-page plan where any adult in the home can find it.
Mention the emergency plan at the next ISP meeting so it is part of the person's documented supports.

A One-Afternoon Checklist

Preparedness in a single afternoon, if that is what you have:

Pack the go-bag, including meds list and comfort items.
Write the one-page About Me sheet and copy it three times.
Put flashlights and a charged power bank where they belong.
Sign up for county emergency alerts.
Name your evacuation destination and tell the support team the plan.
Schedule one fun practice — flashlight evening or exit-route walk — this month.

None of this is dramatic, and that is the point. Preparedness is love expressed as logistics: a calmer emergency for the person you support, bought with one organized afternoon.

North Star Oregon supports individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities through practical, person-centered services across Oregon communities. If building supports like these into daily life is what your family needs, reach out — planning for hard days is part of the job we love.