social anxiety is escalating, what to do?

[Guest guest]

Our latest challenge is how to help our daughter's escalating social

anxiety. She is not going out at recess but staying in and reading and

now she is sitting alone at lunch. Her thoughts are escalating that

the girls in her class do not like her much.

She is 11 year old and on zoloft and it has helped alot. She still

has OCD thoughts but it is manageable right now. Her school phobia is

also under control now that she is in a private school (smaller setting).

Unfortunately although she is in a special ed school they placed her with 7th

and 8th graders due to her being a very good

reader and having a great vocabulary. However socially this is just

too challenging for her. Academically it is working OK.

The school (it is private special ed school) has about 30 kids in the

lunch room and they do not want to impose that kids have to sit

at a particular table.

What should I propose? I did suggest fixed setting at least at

a table to make it concrete and to limit the number of kids

she sees at lunch to the same group exposure daily.

She is so small and petite and her size and thinking is like a 8-9

year old not 11-14 (the group she is in).

Last spring social anxiety triggered OCD increased thoughts and than

we had flat out school refusal. So I want to try to stop this

now.

I would appreciate any ideas.

Pam