5 Ways Teachers Can Help Students with Anxiety in the Classroom

Anxiety that impacts daily life affects 1 in 8 children, meaning that in a classroom of 25 students, 3 will be suffering from anxiety throughout the school day.  Each child affected will exhibit different symptoms and react to situations in various ways. The level of anxiety will also vary greatly, from subtle distraction to outright defiance.  Due to such variances in how and why anxiety presents itself, there is no clear path to follow in regards to helping a student manage their anxiety.

Teachers, school administrators, and parents must work together to create a plan to help each individual child as needs arise.  Below, you will find information for teachers and parents highlighting common types of anxiety seen in schools, frequent reactions shown by anxious students, and accommodations that can be implemented to help students with anxiety in the classroom.  (If your child is struggling with severe anxiety, needing more attention than what can be provided by the classroom teacher, click here to read Tips and Tools to Help Anxious Children at School.

Anxiety essentially hijacks the brain, keeping it from working in the way that is was intended.  The anxious thought or action takes over, stopping the student from rational thoughts. Simply asking a student to “calm down” or telling them “you are fine” is honestly insulting.  It implies that they can turn off the anxiety and return to the task at hand. If you remember this each and every time you interact with an anxious student, you are already more helpful than most people!  No matter how frustrated you become, think about how awful your student feels having to experience their anxiety. Empathy and understanding is a must for anything below to be effective.

Possible Causes of Anxiety in the Classroom

Anxiety is caused by many factors, occurring either in isolation or along with another illness or disability.  Common anxieties are phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), social anxiety, separation anxiety, and Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  Students may have only one type of anxiety or they may have multiple anxieties that arise in different situations or at the same time. It is important that the student’s family communicate openly with the teachers, allowing them to have a better understanding of the student’s anxiety triggers.  

What  School Anxiety May Look Like in the Classroom

Anxiety is often disguised as something else, commonly ADHD or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD).  While a child is battling anxiety, their rational thoughts escape, leaving them with only the tools needed to fight the anxiety that presents itself at the “fight or flight” level.  This can lead to a lack of focus, fidgeting, a need to move, inability to listen to directions, crying, or repetitive actions. In more severe cases, a child feels such a need to flee the anxiety, that they use whatever means necessary to escape, possibly leaving a classroom or building.  They are aware that the rules of school dictate that they stay in the classroom until permission is granted, but the anxiety is so strong that the rules are unable to be followed. At that moment, facing a consequence is a better option than continuing to feel the presence of anxiety.  Many teachers and school staff see this as defiant behavior, as the child is defying the expectations, but it is merely a loud cry for help.  (I should note, the student, when calm, needs to know that the choices he or she made were unacceptable. A plan should be put in place that would help ensure that the student has safe and effective options available when he or she feels anxiety building.) Students dealing with anxiety may often complain about physical symptoms such as stomach aches and pain, headaches, dizziness, blurry vision, or shortness of breath.  These symptoms, while caused by anxiety, are real and should never be dismissed as fake.

How Teachers Are Helping Students with School Anxiety

Teachers take on many roles within the classroom- instructor, protector, doctor, dentist, and counselor- all while individually managing 25 or more children.  There is no teacher who should be expected to fully manage the anxiety of a child in the classroom. There must be a team approach, as no one child should distract from the daily learning of the other children.  The suggestions below can be implemented in the overall classroom environment, benefiting all students. Additional small tweaks can be made to help those with classroom anxiety. Anxiety in the classroom that is impacting a student’s emotional and academic well being must be handled with a team approach and not solely the responsibility of a classroom teacher.  However, a teacher can positively impact an anxious student’s school experience by considering the follow strategies.

Educate Yourself and Form a Positive Relationship

As with all students, the student/teacher relationship is the single most important factor for student success.  The same idea goes for an anxious child. From the beginning, a teacher should work to get to know the student, not only his or her anxiety.  Find out about the student’s interests and hobbies, giving you topics to discuss when helping him or her through anxious moments. In addition to getting to know the student, gather information on understanding the anxiety- what are the triggers, what strategies calm the anxiety, how long does it typically last, and what signs show that you will need to ask for assistance.  

Model Calmness

Model a calm reaction and response at all times, no matter how impatient or frustrated you may be feeling.  Your body language, tone, and word choice need to convey that the child is safe, you are available and willing to help, and that the anxious feeling is just a part of the day and it will pass.  Children are already embarrassed and feel guilty about interrupting or distracting others, but they simply are unable to navigate the anxiety alone.  They must know they can come to you for support and it will be well received.  

Consistency is Key

Second to forming positive teacher/student relationships, consistency and structure within a classroom are mandatory for all students success.  Anxious students thrive when they know what is expected during the school day. Daily schedules should be available, whether in written or picture form.  Changes to the schedule should be conveyed as soon as possible, allowing time for discussions and processing. For most students, extra recess is exciting, but for some students, this adds to their stress levels.  Think about your day and do your best to plan ahead, allowing opportunities to inform students of the changes.

Expectations for class work, group work, projects, assessment, and homework should be clearly laid out.  Accommodations such as reading individually rather than aloud, presenting a pre-recorded project rather than in front of the class, extra time for assignments and testing, and chunking should all be explained in detail so the child knows his or her options. Classroom seating can also be tricky for some students.  Involve the student in decision making on where and whom to sit by, allowing his or her personal space to be a place of comfort and safety rather than a distraction.  Classrooms can be quite small.  Whenever possible, create a calm, quiet space where a child can retreat to when feeling overwhelmed.  Add books, coloring materials, fidgets, and music to this space whenever possible.  

Breaks

Many anxious children need opportunities to leave the classroom, either for movement or a quiet break.  Many students are embarrassed to ask for the break or do not want to interrupt. I suggest using an item like a large pink eraser to place on a child’s desk.  This is the cue that he or she is leaving and following the break plan implemented. Expectations for these breaks must be clearly set. Where does the child go for the quiet break?  Must an adult accompany him or her? How long can the break last? What is the expectation in the break location?  If the expectations are not followed, what happens?  Most children who are using the break for appropriate reasons do not take advantage of these opportunities.

Transition

Transitions can be the most difficult part of the school day, especially when the transition is to a potentially chaotic situation such as lunch or recess.  During these times, some anxious children enjoy an assigned buddy to help them navigate hallways or crowds. It also eases the fear that they may end up alone.  For students who are not able to handle the cafeteria or playground, find a calm location where the child can enjoy his or her time with peers. A child should never be expected to spend their time alone, rather use this as an opportunity to build peer relationships.  It works best for teachers to alternate between allowing the child to choose peers one day and assigning peers another day, allowing all children in the classroom the chance to interact.  

 

 

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These simple strategies can be implemented fairly quickly and at no expense.  Once implemented, all students can enjoy a positive classroom environment and anxiety in the classroom will diminish.  As always, please email me or comment below with any questions or suggestions.

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