3 year old is scared of everything

[Turtle4]

Hi my son has just turned 3 and he is scared of everything. He used to love trains but now he won't get on a tube train. For some reason he is scared of the hallway in the block of flats where we live so I have to carry him when we walk through. If we change the way we come home from nursery he freaks out like he is absolutely petrified but I guess this is more about a change if routine.
If I try and take him to a new place like a farm, he gets scared and screams, hits his head and says he wants to go home. It's getting really bad where I can't take him anywhere.
He has had speech delay so he can't express himself at the same level as a 3 year old without delay, although his language is getting much better.
Any advice would be good 😁😊. Thanks !

My D's was similar - at 3 years old he was scared of men, dogs, cars, enclosed spaces including shops, hand dyers, hoovers, helicopters...loads more. He hated any change to routine, had very bad nightmares. I saw health visitors, gp, spike to nursery.

In our case, I spent a long while wondering whether it was a spectrum issue, but everyone else was certain it wasn't. He was just "quirky".

He's a strapping, confident 12 year old now, and I'm very aware he has sensory issues so cannot handle busy crowds and loud noises. He is always happier in a routine, but he is over most of his fears.

Maybe speak to your gp or health visitor, but it may be worth reading the Highly Sensitive Child and googling sensory processing disorder too.

Thank you so much. Your reply just made me burst into tears!
Yes I have been waiting to see a specialist since March and his appointment is in Feb. It's really good to hear your story as I worry and when I speak with other mums, none of their children are similar at all. Thank you.

I know just what you mean, as my ds was always far harder than other babies and toddlers I knew. Try reading the Highly Sensitive Child book, which was a real eye opener. In ds's case, he was always sociable, good eye contact with me and family, but just found other things overwhelming.

Honestly, he is playing on the Xbox with his brother, laughing with an old school friend on line (the lad who was the toughest boy in his class, who adores D's), and you wouldn't know what he was like at 3 years old.