Anonymous wrote:Our 5 yr old is struggling w anxiety - it looks like anger mixed w outbursts etc. great kid and it came on pretty suddenly 3 mos ago (though dc has always been an intense kid).
We have dc working w a therapist - doesn't feel like one hour a week is enough - and so far no progress is really being made. I'm sure summer will help to lower stress, but for the first time ever we are getting reports from school about behavior issues so it seems to be getting worse not better. School seems to really ramp up the stress level but not sure pulling dc out w 2 mos to go would do much (pre K)

Thanks!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here -
Thank you all for your input! I saw therapist today and we are ramping up - leaving DC once a week and adding us once a week too. We are also going to do an OT evaluation and this summer we have very structured (and a social skills group starting too)

To the therapist above, every therapist I have seen says that anxiety in kids splits 50/50 between what you described (shyness etc) and what I described behavioral. Basically, flight or fight.

B/f you get an OT evaluation, have you actually seen a developmental pediatrician yet? Yes, sometimes anxiety presents alone, but other times, it's a symptom of something else.

Anonymous wrote:OP here -
Thank you all for your input! I saw therapist today and we are ramping up - leaving DC once a week and adding us once a week too. We are also going to do an OT evaluation and this summer we have very structured (and a social skills group starting too)

To the therapist above, every therapist I have seen says that anxiety in kids splits 50/50 between what you described (shyness etc) and what I described behavioral. Basically, flight or fight.

Anonymous wrote:At that age, we did the once per week therapy separately for parents and child. I also reduced EVERYTHING stressful that wasn't school. We tried to have an extremely calm predictable routine. We also did at various points: OT (two years), Karate, yoga, and more. I honestly think that the therapy--especially parent coaching-- and the simplification of our lives is the only thing that made a difference at that point.

At a slightly older age, we did have to medicate (Prozac) and it was life-changing. He was on medication for about two years and then able to be off and handle life/use strategies from therapy.

In the long run (child is 12), the most important things we have done are: 1) finding right school environment 2) patiently and positively building child's strength at favorite sport so he derives real satisfaction and confidence from it and 3) working with excellent therapist.

jjconcern wrote:My experience with anxiety with children at a young age (as a therapist and school psychologist) was more with shyness about social situations and avoidance/ wanting to stay home from school so it surprised me to hear that it seems more anger and acting out issues as you reported that he/she was having more school behavior issues which appears to be a problem with impulse control or situational stress. Either way it sounds like you are getting parental coaching and therapy for him/her to help with the problem till school is finished in a couple of months. You also mentioned that he would not want to leave his/her friends if pulled out of the school situation which sounds as though he likes school enough to make social connections. Has anything happened to family members or your living situation within the last few months that may be affecting his behavior since you describe that he/she was intense in the past but that your child started demonstrating these anger symptoms a few months ago. Kudos to you for being sensitive to your child's issues and willing to seek help rather than just hoping it will improve with time. Hugs to you and your family

Anonymous wrote:Are you also working with the therapist? At this age, what worked best for us was more parent coaching so we could provide more consistent daily support.