Anxiety and depression are treatable, but 80 percent of kids with a diagnosable anxiety disorder are getting neither treatment nor accommodations, according to the Child Mind Institute Children’s Mental Health Report.
Because anxiety is a normal response to stress factors, parents often believe that even severe and disabling anxiety symptoms are just a phase, and on average, there is a two-year lag between the time children develop anxiety and the time they get help. “It’s bad for these children’s brains,” he said. “Having your brain’s thermostat miss-set is not good for your brain.”
“Anxiety can manifest itself along a continuum,” said Rachel Busman, the senior director of the anxiety disorders center at the Child Mind Institute. The report shows that there is some overlap with physical illnesses, such as chronic headaches or stomach aches, often coordinated with school. “That could be a kid’s way of saying, ‘I’m anxious,’” she said.
Anxiety often causes a child to act out., Dr. Busman said, that child may start throwing things, or running and hiding, and that “bad behavior” may represent the fight or flight response of anxiety. “We’ve also seen kids who have intense social anxiety and their way of managing it is to be class clown,” she said.
If your child’s anxiety is starting to affect their interest or performance in school, they may need to step out of the traditional classroom to an environment where they can learn at their own pace and in their own way.
Your child is one-of-a-kind. Traditional classrooms are not.
Academic Achievers Academy provides a safe nurturing alternative that allows each child to thrive.
academicachievers 