Anxiety shows up in ways that are not always
obvious in children and teens
If you ask your child about feeling anxious, they may say "no". The experience of having anxiety is complex and may not be recognized as such. Even parents and therapists miss the signs of anxiety when a thorough evaluation is not completed. Some screening tools also lack sensitivity.
This helps explain why anxiety disorders are under-diagnosed despite being extremely common. Anxiety symptoms often start during the preschool or early school-age years. They can change and fluctuate across development, making it difficult to recognize patterns. Anxiety also co-occurs with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., autism, ADHD, learning disorders), and other psychological concerns (e.g., depression, eating disorders, substance use). It’s not easy to tease apart overlapping symptoms.
When anxiety disorders go untreated, the lasting impact accumulates over time.
Anxiety can be associated with communication delays, academic problems, social challenges, reduced independence, and delays in adult transition.
Did you notice possible early signs of anxiety in your child:
- Sensitive temperament
- Hypervigilant and easily startled
- Distressed and clingy with separation (e.g., at school drop off)
- Fearful of new experiences
- Overly shy (e.g., won't talk to adults)
- Easily embarrassed
- Overly cautious or hesitant
- Excessive somatic complaints (e.g., stomachaches) with stress
- Avoids or resists things that are typical or expected for age
- Needs frequent reassurance
- Overly inflexible, rigid, or particular
As a parent, your role to protect, nurture, and guide your child means that you have the most potent influence over how your child copes and lives with anxiety. This is why parent focused treatment for anxiety disorders is so effective.
Only around 50% of children with anxiety disorders will benefit from individual therapy. We now know that children with anxiety disorders significantly improve when parent involvement is central to treatment.
If you are ready to learn practical, real-life strategies to support your child’s anxiety in everyday life, contact us about the intervention program called:
Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions - SPACE treatment
This treatment includes an Initial Intake session to learn about your child, followed by 10-12 one-to-one individual sessions ($200 per session) with the parent(s) and Dawn Ilardi, PhD. who is trained in SPACE treatment. Sessions can be virtual or in the office. At this time, group sessions are not available.
Learn more about SPACE treatment from the developer, Eli Lebowitz, PhD of the Yale Child Study Center: https://www.spacetreatment.net/
