By Kara Arundel – K12 Dive
Taking preventative measures, acknowledging a student’s reaction to fears, and teaching coping skills are important pre-referral steps, experts said.
As schools note more incidences of student anxiety, experts warn against being dismissive of students’ worries on the one hand or of overcompensating by removing triggers that contribute to the anxiety on the other.
That’s what not to do. What should be done, however, often has educators perplexed.
That’s because anxiety symptoms and reactions vary from child to child. And intervention should be nuanced based on the intensity and longevity of the anxious behaviors, said Peter Faustino, a school psychologist and board member of the New York Association of School Psychologists.
Faustino said school psychologists he’s spoken to report receiving more student referrals for anxiety in recent years. According to the 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book released Monday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, 11.8% of children ages 3-17 experienced anxiety or depression in 2020. That’s a 25.5% increase from 2016, when 9.4% of children had those conditions.
Anxiety in children, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is when fears and worries interfere with school, home or play activities. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, the diagnostic criteria for anxiety disorders is excessive anxiety and worry — occurring on most days for at least six months — about a number of events or activities. People with anxiety have difficulty controlling their worries, the DSM-IV criteria said.
CDC data shows that between 2016 and 2019, 9.4% of children ages 3-17, or about 5.8 million children, ever had a diagnosis of anxiety.
Schools, however, should not wait for students to be clinically diagnosed with anxiety to react to their worries, Faustino said.
“When someone is concerned about something like anxiety, I think we’ve got to really work on connecting them to the appropriate intervention or services sooner rather than later,” Faustino said. “The outcomes are better when we can kind of intervene earlier.”
COVID-19, with the death of loved ones and the isolation it created, contributed to students’ traumatic experiences, highlighting the need for educators to watch for warning signs for mental health challenges, said Amelia Malone, director of research and innovation at the National Center for Learning Disabilities, in an email.
“It’s important that educators refer students to receive services if they see signs of distress. Schools must prioritize students’ well-being,” Malone said.
Experts shared with K-12 Dive five approaches for schools to take in supporting students who are experiencing anxiety.