Discussion: Severe Anxiety 1/2

7/19/2016

28 Comments

Go Back

Page 7

The Discussion Board is a tool for sharing thoughts and ideas about class materials.

Discuss...

Have you ever encountered a child with severe anxiety?
What physical signs and behaviors did they display?
What did you as the adult do about it?

28 Comments

Kristina

12/29/2017 11:23:05 am

I have had a student whom had really bad separation anxiety, he would try to open the door and run out. So me as the adult would take the child to a different part of the room and sit with them until they calmed down then I would walk with them around the room trying to find something they like to play with and then the anxiety would fade and the child was happy and playing.

Eela

12/30/2017 12:24:10 pm

I have a student who would get anxious about every little activity. So I observed him and figured out solutions for some of his consistent behaviors. For example everyday when he arrived he would seem clueless of what his next activity would be, so i provide a visual for all the steps on how to get ready for the class. He would simply cry if could not find the hook to hang his coat. So I made a star next to his name so he could find it. I also encouraged him to look at me and use his words to express his feelings.

LINDSAY ANDERSON

12/30/2017 06:24:41 pm

I had a child who seemed very anxious about starting childcare. He cried most of the days for his mom, would run out of the classroom looking for her, and did not engage in the class. I tried to stay near to him or to show him that i was listening and understanding when he was crying. I also repeated often that his mom was going to come back.

Katherine

12/30/2017 08:15:58 pm

Have you ever encountered a child with severe anxiety? Yes.
What physical signs and behaviors did they display? He wanders a lot and stays close to his teacher at all times. He is very bright, but often does not want to engage in work that is challenging. He has a difficult time making decisions and would much prefer that an adult decided for him.
What did you as the adult do about it? I teach in a multi-age classroom and have made sure to give this child many opportunities to act as teacher to the younger students in our class. He can give lessons on work with which he is confident and his confidence increases when he is able to help another child learn.

Alison Wong

12/30/2017 08:28:51 pm

I had a child who was transitioning into my class and had severe anxiety. This child would cry all day long and rock back and fourth. Even , right after waking up from nap , he would start crying and rocking. As an Adult, I reassured him and asked him to tell me what was wrong , so that I could help him. I also let him know that I am here to help him .

Elizabeth wilson

12/31/2017 03:03:41 pm

Yes I have encountered anxiety in children.
I knew a 12 year old boy who had severe anxiety and he would pace the room and ask a lot of questions and be over bearing with other kids if they were doing things he thought they shouldn’t be doing. As an adult I would notice these signs and pull him aside and ask him if he needed a break from the room. Or if he needed a moment to collect himself. After he calmed down I would let him pick an activity to do. Most of the time I would offer our senroy bucket and he would do that.

Erin Kennedy

12/31/2017 08:55:58 pm

When I taught the two's class their was a little boy who showed signs of anxiety. He would tense up and sometimes cry loudly. He liked pumpkins. So I would try to redirect him and talk to him about pumpkins.

Katie

1/6/2018 11:29:58 am

I have had kids with anxiety in the past and I believe I have one in my current class.
In the past, it was more behavior signs that I noticed at school. The children had a range, fidgeting, perfectionism, rapid speech. They experienced OCD and social anxiety. My current student is a perfectionist, often complain of not feeling well, prefers for do things by herself rather then engage with other children. She speaks very quickly, but will avoid tasks the next minute. She is truly afraid of making a mistake and will either cry or yells that she "FORGOT" when a common understandable preschool mistake occurs.
Currently, I am being patient, I acknowledge her attempts when she tries something new. I encourage her to invite a friend to sit next to her while she draws. And if a mistake happens, I ask "what can we learn from this?" And I give her hugs, and let her know I love her.

Linda Kebely

1/11/2018 10:49:42 am

We had a child that exhibited behaviors when he would seem nervous. He would rock or sing to hum to himself when he felt uncomfortable. There were other factors as well that led us to have a meeting with the child's parents and recommend outside resources to come in and make observations and recommendations to the parents.

Rodlyn

1/13/2018 11:49:17 am

I have had children with anxiety about being dropped off to daycare. It gets better over time when we work with them to feel more comfortable with the drop off. Once they get interacting with the group most of the time it goes well. I did have one little boy that I figured out that he had to do everything in a order when he dropped off to make his anxiety fine. Once I figured out exactly the order of how his coat, lunch box etc how to be put away our days went much better.

Pat forsman

1/14/2018 02:25:43 pm

I don't remember a concrete example of any of my pre k children..but I do know my grandson has anxiety....his physical symptoms would vary from twitches...rapid speech...frequent stomach upsets...as grandma I couldn't do anything but could relay what I saw when he would visit...consequently..parents had him in counseling...when older dr has him on anxiety meds..he's doing much better

Tina

1/14/2018 06:13:43 pm

Experience kids with anxiety in a group care every day. Some are nervous some are crying and some are happy. You can comfort and try to ease their discomfort by tuning into what they need at that moment

Juliette

1/25/2018 08:25:06 pm

I look after 3 years old. I have seen separation anxiety. I tried to get the attention by doing sometthing else (talking about name tag, read a book, doing a puzzle,...). It works most of the time

courtney

2/8/2018 06:31:00 pm

I taught special ed kindergarten for many years. I often had kids on the autism spectrum. When things did not go as planned (for them) they would sometimes beat their heads on the floor or with their fists. I had to anticipate everything that might happen, talk about it, and calm their fears that it was "wrong". For example, for hundreds day, one task was to work in groups to try to stack 100 cups. I learned to mention that this was very hard to do and the cups will most likely fall and everyone will laugh to see them tumble. And then you try again until the timer goes off and you go to the next station.

Florence

3/19/2018 05:20:19 pm

We had a child who had speech delays and when he would get extremely anxious, he would cry uncontrollably and rock back and forth. He would also get highly agitated in his motions. We would take him away from the situation that was causing him anxiety and try to do calming activities.

Cassandra

3/26/2018 10:12:42 pm

I have had many students who get anxiety when a parent is leaving, and they cry, run after their parents, or try to convince them to not leave. In these situations I try to distract the student with an activity that might be extra interesting to them, to try to get their attention away from their parents.

Sandy Davis

5/7/2018 10:43:23 am

We currently have a child with anxiety in the daycare. They will shut down and not want to interact and start to fidget in their seat. We talk about how its okay to be worried or upset about something and we will work through it together. So far that has seemed to help.

Lauren Bendio

6/25/2018 09:17:26 pm

Yes, both at our center and in my own home. My own daughter suffers from severe anxiety and depression. Physically she has tummy issues and constipation, she gets headaches and has sleep issues, and she gets rashes on her skin. She will also throw up if it gets too bad. Behaviorally, she will throw fits, withdraw, scream, kick, or throw things. When her anxiety gets to be too much, she needs to be by herself, needs help calming down, time in a quiet or darker area maybe reading by herself or with someone. Sometimes cuddling with someone or getting a tight hug is helpful for her as well.

Amanda watson

7/31/2018 07:43:06 pm

I have experienced children with anxiety. One of the children I had the pleasure getting to know who has anxiety fidget a lot. They picked at their finger nails and toe nails. They licked their lips. Had a tough time sleeping. Restless and irritable. I talked to them and let them know what they were feeling was okay. I helped them the best way I could and I also seemed help and advise through professional.

Heidi

8/15/2018 10:54:11 am

I have students every year with separation anxiety and a few with just regular anxiety or OCD. My own daughter has struggled with anxiety her whole life. She is almost 15 now. She gets a rash, increased heart rate, trouble breahing, and emotional. At the moment, it seems to center on social issues. Its hard sometimes to know how to help. I try to listen to what she says. To her, the feelings are real, even if her perception of events aren't accurate. Music has been a big help to her when she is having a panic attack, too.

Sarah Hannah

8/28/2018 12:50:54 pm

I have a child in my group with difficult separation anxiety. When they arrive at drop off time they often cling to Mom's leg, not letting go. I have handled this by creating a routine that is predicable. This child is our morning fish feeder. When he arrives now he goes straight to his fish feeding job and is distracted by that.

Erin Baker

9/24/2018 12:55:42 pm

A child in my care suffered from extreme separation anxiety. He was large boy at 4 years old and during fits, would kick and scream as much as possible. On severeal occasions he tried to run out of the door. I first focused on allowing him to feel his emotions and letting him know that I understood. I purchased several new books all about parents leaving and coming back and worked with his parents to find something for him to be excited about.

lexi

9/30/2018 09:14:10 am

While I haven't encountered a child with severe anxiety, I have had multiple children with some anxiety. Usually they would sob after drop off, be wary of other children, refuse to participate, and generally unfocused. What seems to work best for me is distraction. Getting the child engaged in a book or an activity can get them refocused. Later on I would talk with them about why they were feeling so down and anxious. Attempting to talk to them in the moment hasn't worked well for me in the past, cool down time is my best strategy.

Grace

10/11/2018 05:43:04 pm

I had a student who had severe separation anxiety, he would cry and scream. He also tried to open the door and run out. I would bring his favorite toys and books to comfort him and calm him down.

Maria Haslam link

11/4/2018 09:09:41 pm

A student who was paralyzed with fear on the playground for being surrounded by leaves in the fall. He'd been on that playground before, but there had been a storm and a lot of leaves had fallen...it was like he just noticed them and then started crying and shouting for help. I went over, calmed him down and made a game of a "maze" to find a way through it, then discussed it with mom and worked together to use that strategy at home.

CHRISTINE REID

12/2/2018 05:25:40 pm

Yes, I have experienced kids with anxiety. She often had stomach issues and did not participate in many lessons. She constantly asked for reassures for the work she was doing.

Shinji Moon

12/16/2018 04:41:21 pm

Have you ever encountered a child with severe anxiety?

Yes, I have.

What physical signs and behaviors did they display?

Rapid heart rate, not really present in the eyes, jumpy, restless, moving around a lot, difficulty listening and paying attention, didn't want to participate in group activities very much

What did you as the adult do about it?

Tried to take time when possible to sit down with the anxious child and ask them what is going on, talk them through it, give them positive reinforcement and tell them that they are safe, that they are okay, and that i will sit with them as long as they need until they feel better.

Rebekka

12/28/2018 11:21:02 am

Yes I have encountered children experiencing anxiety in my care. The child would scream and cry and throw their body all around when parents would leave them for the day even though the child.had been in care for a long period of time. I talked with the child to see why they were having those feelings and talked with them and reassured them that it was ok to feel that way and that their parents would always come back. We found other activities for the child to keep them occupied even making arts and crafts for their parents to show them when they got picked up.

Required Assignment

Discussion: Severe Anxiety 1/2

Page 7

Leave a Reply.