Anxiety in 8 year old

[Newuser82]

Hi, I have an 8 year old boy. He is gorgeous and the kindest loveliest boy however we do have some difficulties which I’d appreciate some other opinions on!

He has been diagnosed with dcd and sensory processing difficulties. I do also have some suspicions about autism. He doesn’t like loud noises or busy places becoming visibly anxious (chews clothes and sticks close to me). Hates change , even to the extent of getting new furniture! Is very into history and exceptionally knowledgeable in this subject. Has never liked being away from me and have had trouble in past getting him into school (again once back part time after lockdown). Has had panic attacks in past when talking about staying somewhere by himself or when actually doing it. He worries a lot about getting told off or doing something wrong. This is despite us not putting pressure on him and always praising him for effort. He lives in a very calm environment so I’m a bit at a loss as to where the anxiety stems from and believe me myself and husband have done a lot of soul searching about this. He bites his fingernails and sometimes scratches his skin. He is currently receiving ot for dcd and waiting to see a private counsellor for anxiety but I’m just wondering are we missing something And maybe need to get him assessed for autism? Teacher is very good with him but doesn’t suspect autism but I want to make sure we have everything in place for him and getting the right help.

Any advice or experience would be appreciated!

Thanks

Hi
I don’t know about the autism but I just wanted to connect as my 8 year old daughter has also developed strong anxiety over the lockdown and has scratched her arms, had panic attacks etc. We are seeing a private counsellor this Friday.

On reflection I think it’s something she’s always had but has been mostly hidden. I’ve also been doing lots of soul searching as she’s had a calm and happy life. It’s so hard and makes me so sad.

Hi, thanks for your comment. It’s very hard isn’t it? We have also begun private counselling. It’s a parent led cbt course from a private physchologist. She is very hopeful of a good outcome so I’m feeling better although I’m aware it will be a long and hard process for us all.

Very hard to see your child in distress isn’t it?

Yes it is, I’ve just had to rush to pick my daughter up from my mums as she had a really bad panic attack- she’s getting them frequently. It’s good to hear that your counsellor is feeling positive about your son.

Ah that’s so sad. Poor girl. Did the anxiety just come on out of nowhere or has she always worried? I would say our boy has always worried and been clingy but got worse after bullying at school and has progressed ever since. Really hope your daughter is feeling a little better now and it’s good to know someone else in a similar situation as I don’t know of any other child who struggles like my son.

I think it has always been there but we didn’t join the dots of what it was until now. This extreme anxiety seemed to come on overnight. I think she had a panic attack the first time we left her for a couple of hours after being with us all the time through lockdown (she was with her older sister), then the panic attack gave her a massive fear of being ill and dying which caused more of them. To be honest I really don’t know, all the trying to figure it out is exhausting!

Hi, how are things going? Hopefully your daughter is coping ok at the minute?

Sorry to hear other children are struggling. I came here to see if anyone had experienced similar but didn’t expect to find such a recent post. My DD is 8 and having panic attacks most nights. She cry’s her heart is sore and that she’s scared of dying. I feel so helpless and just lie with her till she falls asleep. It took 2 hours tonight.

Her peadiatrican is calling me back tomorrow to check in as she’s recently started melatonin, I hope she can offer some suggestions. I’m heartbroken for her as she’s always such a happy, loving child.

@Dontstepinthecowpat

Sorry to hear other children are struggling. I came here to see if anyone had experienced similar but didn’t expect to find such a recent post. My DD is 8 and having panic attacks most nights. She cry’s her heart is sore and that she’s scared of dying. I feel so helpless and just lie with her till she falls asleep. It took 2 hours tonight.

Her peadiatrican is calling me back tomorrow to check in as she’s recently started melatonin, I hope she can offer some suggestions. I’m heartbroken for her as she’s always such a happy, loving child.

That’s really sad to hear. My son is great at the moment because no school and no leaving us 😕. However I’m very aware school is starting up again in a few weeks 😬. Sorry to hear about your daughter , it’s the worst thing in the world seeing your child suffer.

Hi. Thanks for asking. She had 2 counselling sessions but didn’t bond with the counseller (not sure she was really suited to children) so doesn’t want to go again. We are trying Bach’s relief remedies with her which help a bit. She hasn’t had a panic attack in over 2 weeks but has scratched her arms again. She says that she does it when she feels angry with herself. She is back to school on Monday so we will see how things go and get some advice from the school nursing team then. She is also quite teary and says she doesn’t know what’s wrong, and still comes back downstairs every night.

Ah bless her. V difficult. Have you looked into cbt? We are already starting to see some signs of progress which is encouraging. Although school next week may prove very difficult! 😥 x

I think I will look into CBT as our next step. She doesn’t to be worrying about dying now which is progress.

Good luck with school. Mine was stressing over it massively until we went in to meet her new teacher on Friday which has helped. She is going to be on an Elsa programme at school so we will see how that goes.