Being old material isn’t always a given for deterioration. You can have stone walls or concrete decks and show zero signs of degradation over 100 years. Usually the biggest factor to degradation is exposure to the elements like temperature changes, humidity changes, etc.

If there is any asbestos in the materials your working with/around, you need a licensed professional to handle it. Having unlicensed people work around knowingly “hot material” is immediate grounds for a lawsuit, so don’t let parents try to solve it themselves.

If the ceilings are visibly deteriorating or flaking away with minimal effort, it’s probably best to hire a testing firm to reevaluate the status of the hot material and advise/recommend furthers steps.

As a reminder: the presence of asbestos in a building is not a problem. When it gets loose and airborne, that’s when you have an issue.