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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 5 of 5. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by fortune on February 27, 2001, at 23:07:29
I am wondering if anyone has ever dealt of heard of this. My son who is 8 and in the 1st grade has really been struggling with reading and isn't catching up with the other slower learners in his grade. This of course was a concern for all of us, so the school special ed teacher and pychologist did some testing to see if it's possible that he had a learning disability, and to everyone surprise he doesn't show LD....we talked about alot of different things beginning with how Jordan is around other people...I had always thought of him as shy, but when I really thought long and hard about it it wasn't shyness it was more nervousness, and feeling intimidated by others causing him to 'hide' or freeze up when around others. Next, the teacher mentioned that just after Christmas vacation he started talking more and participating more in class great....but why did it take so long???? What was really strange is I had to fill out this questionaire about my son at home, and the teacher had to fill out one very similiar directed to school and the answers just blew us away. He scored very high at home (in a comfortable setting) but wow at school very very low. How can it be so different??? Anyways, that is when I came up with this social disorder thing and everyone had to agree, but now what? The school can't help him because he's not eligible for extra help because the scores didn't show LD. I took it upon myself to make an appointment to see a phycologist, but when I told my son he bursted into tears. He's scared to death of talking to a stranger. I explained to him that I'd be with him at first...but am I pushing it by forcing him into a VERY uncomfortable setting??? Honestly, I'm scared too. I don't want my son to be on drugs for this, but I want to find out what is causing this insercurity. He's got a good homelife. Two parents at home raising him, not much disipline he's a really good kid (-: So anyone who has dealt with anything like this please give me some advice. Thank you so much!
Posted by SAD Child on April 6, 2001, at 23:29:06
In reply to Social Anxiety Disorder in Children????????, posted by fortune on February 27, 2001, at 23:07:29
> I am a 38 year old male who has recently sought treatment for depression and anxiety resulting from a stressful work situation. In searching the internet for information on anxiety, I found all this stuff on SAD that describes my symptoms perfectly. And then I ran across your description of your son - and thought I was reading about my own childhood. Let me list a number of things that happened to me during my life and see if they ring a bell with you and your son's situation:
1) Wet my pants several times in Kindergarten and first grade over fear of interacting with other children.
2) Got "stomach aches" that kept me from going to school and eventually caused me to get upper and lower G.I.'s and stomach x-rays (at seven years of age).
3) Had difficulty with school work to the point of almost being held back in the third grade (this difficulty was ascribed to "daydreaming").
4) Spent many school mornings crying, not wanting to leave home (through fifth grade!).
5) Had difficulty interacting with girls throughout middle school and high school and now regret missing many, MANY, dances and parties (luckily I now have a wonderful wife and two great boys).
6) Have always had only a small close group of friends (one or two guys) who were usually on the fringe in terms of popularity.
7) Became more sociable in college through the use (abuse) of alcohol.While most of my life has been filled with pain in meeting and getting to know new people, and public speaking or events in which I am expected to play a large part scare the be-jesus out of me, I have high hopes for the treatment which I am now undertaking. I don't know whether some of the medications available to treat this can be used in children, but I sincerely hope that you will continue to seek help for your son so that he can experience life to its fullest. I have seen a couple of sites for doctors who specialize in the treatment of this on the net (try a search on "social anxiety disorder").
Good luck to both of you
Posted by fortune on April 9, 2001, at 21:55:54
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety Disorder in Children????????, posted by SAD Child on April 6, 2001, at 23:29:06
Thank you for writing...I can relate on a few factors but for the most I haven't seen to many of these things from my son other then a very small, very select group of friends, and difficultiy opening up to anyone including me and dad, and being very uncomfortable around people in general. I have met with a phycologist once, and he has seen her as well, and seems to be okay with it...well so far anyways, but I plan to continue with therpy and hope to get some answers, and I REALLY hope he can open up to me and let me in, he so unaffectionate and withdrawn. Sad really for he's only 8 )-:
Posted by Sara T. on April 11, 2001, at 0:06:54
In reply to Social Anxiety Disorder in Children????????, posted by fortune on February 27, 2001, at 23:07:29
> I am wondering if anyone has ever dealt of heard of this. My son who is 8 and in the 1st grade has really been struggling with reading and isn't catching up with the other slower learners in his grade. This of course was a concern for all of us, so the school special ed teacher and pychologist did some testing to see if it's possible that he had a learning disability, and to everyone surprise he doesn't show LD....we talked about alot of different things beginning with how Jordan is around other people...I had always thought of him as shy, but when I really thought long and hard about it it wasn't shyness it was more nervousness, and feeling intimidated by others causing him to 'hide' or freeze up when around others. Next, the teacher mentioned that just after Christmas vacation he started talking more and participating more in class great....but why did it take so long???? What was really strange is I had to fill out this questionaire about my son at home, and the teacher had to fill out one very similiar directed to school and the answers just blew us away. He scored very high at home (in a comfortable setting) but wow at school very very low. How can it be so different??? Anyways, that is when I came up with this social disorder thing and everyone had to agree, but now what? The school can't help him because he's not eligible for extra help because the scores didn't show LD. I took it upon myself to make an appointment to see a phycologist, but when I told my son he bursted into tears. He's scared to death of talking to a stranger. I explained to him that I'd be with him at first...but am I pushing it by forcing him into a VERY uncomfortable setting??? Honestly, I'm scared too. I don't want my son to be on drugs for this, but I want to find out what is causing this insercurity. He's got a good homelife. Two parents at home raising him, not much disipline he's a really good kid (-: So anyone who has dealt with anything like this please give me some advice. Thank you so much!
Hi-
Social Phobias affest children too. I've had my daughter in therapy for Separation Anxiety and Generalized Anxiety and she's only 6. What did it look like? Well, she's extremely shy, and for the first three years of her life, wouldn't talk to anyone outside her family, even though she was a chatterbox at home (that's known as Selective Mutism). She went to a day care and I finally broke the ice by getting her to talk on a pretend telephone to the teacher and to the other kids. She is very social, but to this day she's still very shy, and will not talk to adults or older kids.
Over the summer, between graduating pre-K and entering Kindergarten (going to "big" school) she became a regular basket case. She could not abide the noise of water running into the bath tub, thunderstorms (she thought that if we said the word thunder it would strike us), candles on birthday cakes sent her running, and of course dogs.
We started therapy during that time at a clinic especially for childhood anxieties and phobias at the Psychology department at the local University. It was useful in helping her overcome some fears, because the treatment is usually over a defined period and directed at a specific area. Anyway, when school started she calmed down, I think because the unknown became known.
The therapy ended in February. She said she wished she could still go because she liked having a place where she could talk about things that scared her. There are still alot of things that frighten her. She hates worms, dogs still, one day not to long ago she came to my room by going all the way out side and around the house (I have a patio door to my room) because the cat was somewhere between her and the door to my room. The cat is afraid of anything that moves.
Not too long ago, while waiting for my son in a waiting room, there was a one year old girl who wanted to play with my daughter, in the way that toddlers are fascinated with older children. My daughter sat on my lap for 45 minutes screaming every time that child came near her! You would have thought it was a vicous dog instead of a sweet little baby girl.
I too, have had her tested for any LD problems. I suspect there could be some, but they won't show up until she gets further along in school. Hopefully, that won't be the case. Anyway, she is doing fime academically now and they did not find any problems.
I might reccommend to you that you have your son privately tested and assessed. He could be depressed and if so, it will effect his ability to concentrate. Or he could have an Inattentive ADD, and that's hard to pick up on too. Anyway, don't trust the school system's testing, they often don't pick up on things. Go privately if you can.
Also, some tutoring on the side might help him out and pick up his self esteem.
Good luck. Also I will try and post a very good book title on Childhood Anxiety Disorders.
Sara T.
Posted by Elizabeth Becker on June 4, 2001, at 17:35:04
In reply to Re: Social Anxiety Disorder in Children????????, posted by Elizabeth Becker on June 4, 2001, at 17:29:01
A year ago I was diagnosed with social anxiety disorder. When I was little my parents just thought I was extremely shy and quiet, but I was more than that. I was constantly uptight and very paranoid. When I was in math class in sixth grade I peed in my pants because I was afraid to ask the teacher to let me go to the bathroom. I would fake sick a lot just so that I would not have to face people at school. In seventh grade, when I walked into a convenient store to get a drink, I saw a school mate and hid behind a shelf until he left. I started not going to parties and dances, and it kept getting worse. I started to eat a lot and I am fat because of it. My doctor told me to take a medicine called Paxil, made especial for SAD, and I did. It has changed my life and given me a new confidence I never had. WWW.Paxil.com
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