Get test help: SouthFlorida.com

To help students with more serious anxiety disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital offers suggestions on its web site.
• www.massgeneral.org
• Establish check-ins on arrival to facilitate transition into school.
• Accommodate late arrival due to difficulty with transitions.
• Because transitions may be particularly difficult for these children, allow extra time for moving to another activity or location.
• Understand that when a child with anxiety refuses to follow directions, the reason may be symptoms of anxiety rather than intentional oppositionality.
• If the child is avoiding school, determine the cause of the child's reluctance and address it. Initiate a plan for him or her to return to school as quickly as possible. It may help ease anxiety if the child attends for a shorter school day temporarily.
• Identify a "safe" place where the child may go to reduce anxiety during stressful periods. Developing guidelines for appropriate use of the safe place will help both the student and staff.
• Develop relaxation techniques to help reduce anxiety at school. Employing the techniques developed at home can be useful.
• Provide alternative activities to distract the child from physical symptoms. Calming activities may be helpful.
• Encourage small group interactions to develop increased areas of competency
• Provide assistance with peer interactions. An adult's help may be very beneficial for both the child and his or her peers.
• Encourage the child to help develop interventions. Enlisting the child in the task will lead to more successful strategies and will foster the child's ability to problem-solve.
• Reprinted with permission from www.schoolpsychiatry.org, a web site for parents, educators, and clinicians that address the needs of children and teens who have mental health conditions.
SOURCE: Reprinted with permission of the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry.