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Helping GT Children Cope with Anxiety

What signs of anxiety should adults be looking for in children? Signs of anxiety may manifest differently in children than in adults. However, adults need to take in consideration the maturity and normal behaviors of each individual child to ascertain signs, which may appear incongruous, of anxiety. It characteristically can present as regressive behaviors, fixation on events, withdrawal from social activities, attention-seeking behaviors, sleeping or eating issues, unexplainable aggression, or simply vastly divergent behaviors. A child’s response to lingering effects of the Pandemic, a daily barrage of scenes from war torn areas (albeit distant), and concerns about the planet’s climate can all weigh heavily on children with a heightened ability to comprehend the seriousness of the situation.
What are the consequences of not dealing with anxiety in children? Anxiety and the often associated grief can be a part of normal emotions, but when they lead to long-term, maladaptive behaviors; adults need to be concerned and ready to act to deal with the causes to the greatest extent possible. Ignoring the signs of anxiety in children can increase the likelihood of extended issues necessitating professional help and making transitions back to a more normal life more difficult including return to in-person classes and day-to-day social activities. Commonality does not mean exclusivity, i.e., that only GT kids experience anxiety. However, children who have a greater understanding of world events may become overwhelmed by feelings of empathy or grief leading to existential depression.
Recently, everyone has experienced some degree of anxiety due to Covid for various reasons. Adults need to be cognizant of their own feelings and deal with those first. Children are better cared for by adults who practice self-care. Adults – parents, teachers, caregivers – need to cultivate personal relationships with children in their care. The sudden loss of a loved one, fear of contracting the virus, loss of contact with friends can profoundly affect children. Adults can acknowledge the child’s feelings, be willing to have open conversations about those concerns, and honestly answer questions that arise. If this does not help, adults should be willing to seek out professional help.
Teachers can have a profound effect on their students ability to cope with anxiety. They can work to provide a safe classroom environment both physically and emotionally. Whenever possible, teacher shouldn’t hesitate to call on the services of school counselors to assist both in and out of the classroom. Guidance counselors can be effective working in small groups or whole class sessions. Teachers may be the first to see signs of anxiety in their students and need to keep open lines of communication with parents and caregivers. They can often be a conduit between a student’s needs and access to services.
Schools today, post initial stages of the Pandemic, are well suited to provide services to their students through improved physical improvements to classrooms such as better ventilation, provision of masks when needed, and well-stocked cleaning supplies. They should prioritize the availability of school nurses on every campus and maintain constant communications with families and the community concerning issues related to Covid exposures at the school. Schools should strive to provide safe environments for students to re-engage in social activities, extracurricular activities, and programs to promote emotional well-being.
What can parents do to help anxious gifted children at home? Parents should identify and validate their child’s feelings and discuss them openly and honestly. There are specific coping skills – such as writing in a journal, exercise, play – when done together which can help children experiencing anxiety. Setting routines can help children lessen stress and give them a sense of normalcy. Also, reducing the amount of screen time including limiting exposure to news can bring relief to heightened anxiety.
A transcript of this chat can be found on our Wakelet page.
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at Noon NZST/10 AM AEST/1AM UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Meta Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Resources:
Grief, Loss and Gifted | IEA
The Journey Through Grief and Loss: Helping Yourself and Your Child When Grief Is Shared (book)
How to Help Gifted Children Cope With Death, Loss & Grief
Gifted and Grieving: Why It is Critical to Offer Differential Support to Gifted Kids during Times of Loss (pdf) | Gifted Child Today
Signs of Grief in Children and How to Help Them Cope
Existential Depression: What to Do When Your Search for Meaning Overwhelms You
The Interface of Overthinking, Anxiety, and Shame Among Gifted Children | SENG
Helping a Gifted Child Deal with Anxiety
Understanding The Link Between Empathy And Anxiety In Gifted Children
Stress, Anxiety & Mental Health Problems in Gifted Adolescents | Psychological Disorders and Research
Anxiety Solutions for Smart Kids: A Parent’s Guide to Managing Stress and Anxiety in Gifted Children (book)
Why Smart Kids Worry: And What Parents Can Do to Help (A Parenting Book for Children with Anxiety) (book)
Parenting the Exceptional Social-Emotional Needs of Gifted and Talented Children: What Do We Know?
Gifted Children: Life After the Pandemic | Psychology Today
What Can We Teach Students about Academic Stress? | Grayson School
Helping Children with Traumatic Separation or Traumatic Grief Related to COVID-19 (pdf) | National Child Traumatic Stress Network
COVID-19 and Anxiety in Gifted Children | NAGC
Do Gifted Children Struggle with Anxiety? | Dr. Gail Post
Management of Anxiety Begins at Home | NAGC
Image courtesy of Pixabay Pixabay License
Graphic courtesy of Lisa Conrad
2020 Retrospective: The Lost Year
This week’s #gtchat was a look back at 2020! A transcript can be found at Wakelet. Resources from the chat can be found below. This was the final chat of the year. We wish you all a very happy holiday season from all of us at Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT!
Global #gtchat Powered by the Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented is a weekly chat on Twitter. Join us Thursdays at 8E/7C/6M/5P in the U.S. and Fridays at 2PM NZDT/Noon AEDT/Midnight UK to discuss current topics in the gifted community and meet experts in the field. Transcripts of our weekly chats can be found at Wakelet. Our Facebook Page provides information on the chat and news and information regarding the gifted community. Also, checkout our Pinterest Page and Playlist on YouTube.
About the author: Lisa Conrad is the Moderator of Global #gtchat Powered by TAGT and Social Media Manager of the Global #gtchat Community. She is a longtime advocate for gifted children and also blogs at Gifted Parenting Support. Lisa can be contacted at: gtchatmod@gmail.com
Resources:
The Impact of #COVID-19 on Education: Insights from Education at a Glance 2020 (pdf)
#COVID-19 and Student Performance, Equity, and U.S. Education Policy | Economic Policy Institute
Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and Beyond (pdf) | United Nations
A Roundup of COVID-19’s Impact on Higher Education
3 #COVID-19 Education Trends Set to Persist Post-Pandemic
#COVID-19 and Human Development: Assessing the Crisis, Envisioning the Recovery | United Nations Development Programme
The #COVID-19 Pandemic: Shocks to Education and Policy Responses | The World Bank
Putting the ‘Learning’ Back in Remote Learning: Policies to Uphold Effective Continuity of Learning through #COVID-19 (pdf) | UNICEF
Education in a Post-COVID World: Nine Ideas for Public Action (pdf) | United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
Time to Fix American Education with Race-for-Space Resolve | The Harvard Gazette
The Impact of #COVID-19 on Student Achievement and What It May Mean for Educators
How will #COVID-19 Change Our Schools in the Long Run?
The 10 Most Significant Education Studies of 2020
What Educators Are Learning during the Pandemic
The Top 6 Trends in Education for 2020
Education in 2020 – The end of the classroom? | Education World
Schooling disrupted, Schooling Rethought How the Covid-19 Pandemic is Changing Education (pdf) | OECD
Education: From Disruption to Recovery | UNESCO
COVID-19’s Long-Term Impacts on Education in 2020 and Beyond
Will 2020 be remembered as the year in which education was changed?
‘Panic-gogy’: Teaching Online Classes during the Coronavirus Pandemic | NPR
20 Teachers Share How Education Will Change in 2021
Images courtesy of Pixabay & Pixabay Pixabay License
Graphics courtesy of Lisa Conrad