anxiety

May 15, 2002

CAN ANYONE SUGGEST SOMETHING THAT I CAN PASS BACK TO THIS GIRL?

JULIE

[ ] Anxiety

Hi,

Can anyone help with tricks of the trade to help a young student that has severe

anxiety and perhaps OCD. He spends his days at school constantly watching over

the classroom to make sure where everyone is. He gets anxious when any

additional or new work is added to his load. He anticipates the heater vents

coming on and cannot focus on anything but during spring time.

He resorts to aggressive behavior in an effort to tell his teachers how anxious

he is. When comforted, you can feel his little heart racing out of his chest.

I understand a new book by Donna : Exposure Anxiety; The invisible cage

is due out, but not until July. Every day seems like a nightmare for this kid.

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

julie

May 15, 2002

Not sure if this will help, but it worked for my 3 1/2 yr. old son when he

was experiencing anxiety.

At the first sign of a stressful situation I would take my son aside and

begin counting to 10 slowly, my son is mildly verbal and can count with me

so I request this if he is still upset as a further distraction and

something that he is familiar with and comforting (has clear beginning and

end and forces him to focus on a new task). If there seems to be some sort

of sensory need attached (as it was in the beginning for my boy) I would

brush his hands while counting or gently rub them palm to finger tip

counting while this was done. It was an excellent coping mechanism and he

finally was able to learn and generalize to school (he will begin counting

by himself and avoids the full-blown anxiety altogether).

I would also structure his " drills " using easy, easy, hard or something that

he can do easily, something else he can do easily and then give the new

material or work. It wasn't easy at the first, sometimes counting to 10 was

necessary and asking him to finish or at least get him to attend once more

and then huge reward like computer game time or favorite reinforcer. I would

then increase the amount of time working on the new material each time.

The best thing with my son is trying to anticipate the anxiety before it

happens and redirect quickly. Not always easy but almost always effective

with him. Each child is different and my son did not have issues with OCD so

this may be stuff that you've already tried that didn't work?? Visual

scheduling is somewhat helpful or a first this, then this, then Reward type

board. This is often difficult for my son, to get the understanding of

sequencing, but if it is an understood trait of this child it may work well.

Perhaps taking data to determine what is happening prior to the anxiety will

aide you in developing his coping skills and/or make it easier to redirect

his attention.

Hope that there is at least one helpful suggestion in here for you.

Good luck,

Cyndy

[ ] Anxiety

> Hi,

> Can anyone help with tricks of the trade to help a young student that has

severe anxiety and perhaps OCD. He spends his days at school constantly

watching over the classroom to make sure where everyone is. He gets anxious

when any additional or new work is added to his load. He anticipates the

heater vents coming on and cannot focus on anything but during spring time.

>

> He resorts to aggressive behavior in an effort to tell his teachers how

anxious he is. When comforted, you can feel his little heart racing out of

his chest.

>

> I understand a new book by Donna : Exposure Anxiety; The invisible

cage is due out, but not until July. Every day seems like a nightmare for

this kid.

>

> Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

>

> Thanks,

> julie

>

May 15, 2002

My impressions from my own experiences and what I have read by others:

> Hi,

> Can anyone help with tricks of the trade to help a young student

that has severe anxiety and perhaps OCD. He spends his days at school

constantly watching over the classroom to make sure where everyone is.

Be sure other kids are not teasing him or mistreating him.

>>He gets anxious when any additional or new work is added to his

load.

Consider fear of failure, or of looking bad to his friends or teachers

or parents.

>>He anticipates the heater vents coming on and cannot focus on

anything but during spring time.

Fear of fires or of loud noises.

>

> He resorts to aggressive behavior in an effort to tell his teachers

how anxious he is. When comforted, you can feel his little heart

racing out of his chest.

Teach specific behaviors he can use instead of aggressive behaviors.

How are the aggressive behaviors handled now?

Also consider phenols and/or yeast issues

http://www.autismchannel.net/dana/phenol.htm

http://www.autismchannel.net/dana/yeast.htm

>

> I understand a new book by Donna : Exposure Anxiety; The

invisible cage is due out, but not until July. Every day seems like a

nightmare for this kid.

It probably is. He needs predictable structure in his day, and people

who will say nice things about him and not bad things. This kid

sounds afraid of things, someone needs to discover why he is so

afraid. NOTHING is an irrational fear, there is SOMETHING which has

upset him.

Dana

May 15, 2002

Dear ,

I have a friend who's son sounds just like this boy. They got relief

through small doses of Luvox for OCD and Risperdol for anger management.

They also incorporated a sensory diet of lots of physical exercize with

weights which has really helped.

-

From: " Ross " <ken@...>

Sent: Wednesday, May 15, 2002 5:00 AM

Subject: [ ] Fw: [ ] Anxiety

> CAN ANYONE SUGGEST SOMETHING THAT I CAN PASS BACK TO THIS GIRL?

> JULIE

> [ ] Anxiety

>

> Hi,

> Can anyone help with tricks of the trade to help a young student that has

severe anxiety and perhaps OCD. He spends his days at school constantly

watching over the classroom to make sure where everyone is. He gets anxious

when any additional or new work is added to his load. He anticipates the

heater vents coming on and cannot focus on anything but during spring time.

>

> He resorts to aggressive behavior in an effort to tell his teachers how

anxious he is. When comforted, you can feel his little heart racing out of

his chest.

>

> I understand a new book by Donna : Exposure Anxiety; The invisible

cage is due out, but not until July. Every day seems like a nightmare for

this kid.

>

> Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

>

> Thanks,

> julie

>

August 1, 2003

Hi, Mychele-

I don't have any suggestions in terms of supplements, but the

suggestions I *do* have are these:

I don't know what your home/financial situation is, but if homeschooling

is financially possible, do keep it in mind as an option. My son has

anxiety issues, and they nearly all resolved with homeschooling... as

you say, school itself is stressful, and when you add other issues that

inevitably crop up (teacher personality conflicts, bullies, etc), it can

be a less-than-positive experience.

If you have the opportunity, interview teachers, visit schools during

the school day, and if choice is an option, choose the one that fits

best with your child's needs. Teachers, in particular, can make all the

difference.

If possible, make arrangements to bring your child into the classroom

for several days before school starts, so that he can get comfortable

with the environment and the teacher before adding the noise and

movement and social pressures of the other students to the mix. If he

can 'bond' with a few of the toys/items in the classroom, and/or with

the teacher, that can be a touchstone for security when the stim gets

overwhelming.

See if the teacher can arrange for a 'quiet space' for your child to go

to when he feels overwhelmed. Sometimes Kindergarten classrooms have a

headphone set where a child can sit quietly (hopefully facing away from

the main area of the classroom) and listen to music or 'audio books';

that can help to cut out the overwhelming stim of a chaotic K classroom.

If your child is able, teach him to check regularly for his usual

symptoms of stress, and see if you can work out a reliable 'steam valve'

activity to help him self-calm. Counting, singing a little song to

himself, squeezing a 'stress ball' or rubbing a 'worry stone/doll' or a

ball of Play-doh, any activity that helps him focus on one non-stressful

thing and cut out excess stim is helpful.

If your child is a 'wanderer' or 'fidgiter', talk to the teacher and

arrange for an allowance for that... again, giving the child some

Play-doh to work with during group time or getting permission for the

child to 'wander' during group time as long as he doesn't make noise or

bother the other kids would be helpful. Fidgiting and wandering is

often the child's way of controlling overwhelming stim, and forcing him

to sit still can cause more problems than it's worth in terms of 'acting

out' (that built up pressure has to release *somehow*) behavior.

Good luck to you and your little guy-

Ellie

mychele_chapin wrote:

>Hi everyone. I have been searching the posts to find if there is any

>thing out there for anxiety. My son, like one of the posts I read,

>was on paxil for about 8 months and I weaned him off because of all

>the negative side effects I read about it. Since then (march) I have

>tried gabba at small and large amounts, 5-HTP and natural calm to try

>and relieve some of his anxiety problems. Nothing is working. Im

>getting really worried becuase he is about to start kinder in 2 weeks

>and he is scared of programs at school, on top of the anxiety of

>being in kinder. Is there anyone out there who has found something

>that has worked for thier child who has high anxiety. We are

>currently on 1 cap no fenol at lunch, and 1 cap of each HN Zyme Prime

>and Peptizyde at every meal. I also give him 1 1/2 tsp of natural

>calm.

>

>thanks!!!

>Mychele

>

August 1, 2003

Elie, thanks for your suggestions! I have considered it but

financially am not ready. However, it is very much an option should

this school year not work out well for him!!

>

> >Hi everyone. I have been searching the posts to find if there is

any

> >thing out there for anxiety. My son, like one of the posts I

read,

> >was on paxil for about 8 months and I weaned him off because of

all

> >the negative side effects I read about it. Since then (march) I

have

> >tried gabba at small and large amounts, 5-HTP and natural calm to

try

> >and relieve some of his anxiety problems. Nothing is working. Im

> >getting really worried becuase he is about to start kinder in 2

weeks

> >and he is scared of programs at school, on top of the anxiety of

> >being in kinder. Is there anyone out there who has found

something

> >that has worked for thier child who has high anxiety. We are

> >currently on 1 cap no fenol at lunch, and 1 cap of each HN Zyme

Prime

> >and Peptizyde at every meal. I also give him 1 1/2 tsp of natural

> >calm.

> >

> >thanks!!!

> >Mychele

> >

August 1, 2003

I know Inositol has been touted recently as helping with OCD

behaviors as well as the SSRIs. I wonder if anxiety can fit in to

this realm?

You can find it in your health food store supplement section. It is

safe. I do not know about the dosage. The largest study that I

know of was done in Israel (by the way, Israel has the largest

generic drug manufacturere, I think, so I'm sure they didn't fund

this study!).

Pam in WA

> Hi everyone. I have been searching the posts to find if there is

any

> thing out there for anxiety. My son, like one of the posts I

read,

> was on paxil for about 8 months and I weaned him off because of

all

> the negative side effects I read about it. Since then (march) I

have

> tried gabba at small and large amounts, 5-HTP and natural calm to

try

> and relieve some of his anxiety problems. Nothing is working. Im

> getting really worried becuase he is about to start kinder in 2

weeks

> and he is scared of programs at school, on top of the anxiety of

> being in kinder. Is there anyone out there who has found

something

> that has worked for thier child who has high anxiety. We are

> currently on 1 cap no fenol at lunch, and 1 cap of each HN Zyme

Prime

> and Peptizyde at every meal. I also give him 1 1/2 tsp of natural

> calm.

>

> thanks!!!

> Mychele

August 1, 2003

The Ojibwa tea and probiotics seemed to mitigate some of the obsessive

compulsive issues ( stemming from anxiety, and central nervous system disorder).

It wasn't until I researched the antiviral and antifungal meds. my son is now

taking that I understood this component. The tea and probiotics are natural

antivirals and make it difficult for the bad yeast to grow out of control. Once

on the meds. though we've seen just about every obsessive compulsive issue

resolve. For myself, I'm not so obsessive compulsive or temperamental as long as

I'm taking these things. It will be wonderful when I can finally be treated by

Dr. Goldberg. Anxiety

Hi everyone. I have been searching the posts to find if there is any

thing out there for anxiety. My son, like one of the posts I read,

was on paxil for about 8 months and I weaned him off because of all

the negative side effects I read about it. Since then (march) I have

tried gabba at small and large amounts, 5-HTP and natural calm to try

and relieve some of his anxiety problems. Nothing is working. Im

getting really worried becuase he is about to start kinder in 2 weeks

and he is scared of programs at school, on top of the anxiety of

being in kinder. Is there anyone out there who has found something

that has worked for thier child who has high anxiety. We are

currently on 1 cap no fenol at lunch, and 1 cap of each HN Zyme Prime

and Peptizyde at every meal. I also give him 1 1/2 tsp of natural

calm.

thanks!!!

Mychele

August 2, 2003

Hi Mychele,

Our daughter had high anxiety and was on Paxil for about a year

until we started No-Fenol and AFP Peptizyde (the ZP enzyme wouldn't

be good for my daughter until certain things are removed...I've

heard Dr. Houston is working on that). After about 4 months on AFP

and No-Fenol (1 capsule each per meal), she was able to slowly wean

off of Paxil!

Consider removing Soy and artificial colors/flavors (we're on the

Feingold Diet....www.feingold.org)....every time I've tried

reintroducing Soy back into my 6 year daughter's diet, her anxiety

(and stuttering) got worse for about 7 to 10 days. I've decided not

to try it anymore, plus, I'm hearing more and more about how Soy is

actually unhealthy for us, which caught me by surprise!

Homeschooling has been a WONDERFUL option for us. We use K12.com

and they have their own helpful online support group as well, but

I've heard that other curriculum's can be very inexpensive (I've

heard good things about the Sonlight Curriculum too...lots of

reading is so important...their website is: www.sonlight.com. After

some more research, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised! I

highly recommend getting involved with a local homeschool online

support group to ask any questions you may have. That's what I did,

and people are so supportive and helpful!

Best wishes in your decision-making,

Gretchen

> >

> > >Hi everyone. I have been searching the posts to find if there

is

> any

> > >thing out there for anxiety. My son, like one of the posts I

> read,

> > >was on paxil for about 8 months and I weaned him off because of

> all

> > >the negative side effects I read about it. Since then (march)

I

> have

> > >tried gabba at small and large amounts, 5-HTP and natural calm

to

> try

> > >and relieve some of his anxiety problems. Nothing is working.

Im

> > >getting really worried becuase he is about to start kinder in 2

> weeks

> > >and he is scared of programs at school, on top of the anxiety

of

> > >being in kinder. Is there anyone out there who has found

> something

> > >that has worked for thier child who has high anxiety. We are

> > >currently on 1 cap no fenol at lunch, and 1 cap of each HN Zyme

> Prime

> > >and Peptizyde at every meal. I also give him 1 1/2 tsp of

natural

> > >calm.

> > >

> > >thanks!!!

> > >Mychele

> > >

August 3, 2003

Mychele,

Did you stop the Paxil because you were scared of the possible side

effects or because your son actually exhibited these effects? While he

was on it, did it seem to help with the anxiety?

Rhonda

Olivia's mom

August 4, 2003

I stopped because his doc kept increasing the dosage of his paxil and

it made me nervous (because of what I heard as far as side effects).

However it did really help with transitions and with anxiety. I know

in the back of my mind that if I couldnt find natural treatmens I

would have to go back to it. He was doing really good for a while

then it got really bad. When I did ween him off of the paxil, and I

did it very slowly he would wake up in the middle of the night just

shaking like he had fever or something and it only happened on the

night that the dosage decreased. He would do it all night long, and

I felt so BAD, that made me want to discontinue the medicine even

more.

> Mychele,

> Did you stop the Paxil because you were scared of the possible side

> effects or because your son actually exhibited these effects?

While he

> was on it, did it seem to help with the anxiety?

> Rhonda

> Olivia's mom

December 12, 2003

To whoever posted first about anxiety - I agree that you should look

into the sensory integration area. Have an OT evaluation. You can

also find the book " The Out-of-Sync Child " which may help you

understand DSI and determine in your own mind whether your child has

it, if you haven't yet had an evaluation.

Our son will be 4 in January. He has verbal delay (probably apraxia,

but not everyone agrees on that) and also has sensory integration

issues. He does alright with other children, but he still does much

more parallel play versus real interation. However, he is very

anxious in crowds of adults and at family parties. He also hates

getting his hair cut, and doctor/dentist offices are a big triggers

of anxiety for him. In some cases, I think it is noise that bothers

him most; he doesn't seem to have touch aversion. With doctors and

dentists, it may just be a natural fear of being poked and prodded,

with the added complication of not being able to communicate how much

it worries/frightens him.

We recently talked to a psychologist who had some suggestions, that

we haven't really tried out yet, but that sounded worth attempting.

1) Find something that he finds calming that you can take with you,

maybe an activity, earmuffs or a hat (for muffling noise), etc. I

don't know what it would be with someone afraid of touch. Again,

there may be some info in The Out-of-Sync Child or other books about

sensory integration disfunction.

2) Make a personalized book, with photos of the situations that he

finds distressing and make a story about it. Apparently there are

guidelines about how to write this; if you have access to a

psychologist through school or EI you may want to talk to him/her.

The book might have parts like " Sometimes other children touch me.

Sometimes I touch them. It is scary to be with so many children, but

it is fun to play with the trains/cars/blocks " . Think about ways you

can make it positive. Again, talk to a psychologist about it.

3) I think the smaller playgroups where your child feels more

comfortable must be a good thing!

4) We also talked to our son's OT, who is meeting with me next week

to talk about a sensory diet, and things that we can try for calming

and comforting my son when he is anxious.

I have noticed that my son was very hesitant in the past to climb on

playground equipment, use the slide, etc. He also wouldn't/couldn't

jump up and down. He only liked to swing. I think it was either

sensory discomfort or a feeling of lack of motor control, or both. He

has improved greatly in recent months as his balance has improved. He

is much more confident and will climb and slide and do things that he

just would not do a year ago, and he loves to jump (floor, bed,

trampoline, couch...). I think his therapy coupled with the natural

maturation of his muscles and balance have helped him be more

confident, and am hopeful that we can address the social anxiety,

also, with therapy and time.

I hope this is helpful to you.

December 20, 2005

Hi , I have a 9 year old with severe anxiety. He is also on the autism

spectrum. What worked for him for a period of time was a very low dose of

medication. His anxiety was impeding his ability to learn. As much as I

didn't want to take that step it did help him immensely. I'm not saying that

is

what you should do, but it could possibly put him in a better place to begin

to use relaxation techniques and to learn to calm himself down when he is

feeling anxious. It might be something to look into with a psychiatrist that

has experience in autism and medicating young children. Pam

December 20, 2005

,

Does your son have this anxiety all the time or is it just during certain

situations or prior to certain situations? My daughter has an anxiety

disorder called selective mutism.She is 5 and is in therapy to learn to talk

at school. I would think there must be some way to help your sons anxiety.

They told us by the time she is 6 if she still hasn't over come her anxiety

they would medicate her. I also have a son who has AS age 7 and he currently

is doing ok without anything. I am not pro or con meds. Whatever works. It

seems to me if it is that severe all the time meds would be an option.

Ann

( ) anxiety

I have a seven year old son who was recently diagnosed with

Asperger's. His biggest issue right now is his anxiety. He has severe

anxiety. He gets intense stomach cramps from his anxiety. He is not on

any medication for his anxiety yet. He can't relax himself, and is

constantly sitting on the toilet crying with stomach cramps. He

sometimes has diarhea and sometimes just feels like he has to go to

the bathroom. He is completely miserable, and I feel terrible for him.

I was just wondering if anyone else is experiancing this, and if

anybody knows of any self calming techniques. If anyone could help me

out I would appreciate it!! Woodman

December 20, 2005

Hi Terry! i use to have Anaxity just like your son but then i found a cure! i

think of things that are nice and that helps me.

t_woodman99 <t_woodman99@...> wrote: I have a seven year old son who was

recently diagnosed with