My little brother is 9 years old. He is so smart, you may even call him gifted. He is way above other 9 year olds for reading and math levels. For as long as we can remember he has had a huge anxiety about not getting home to my mom after school, when out with someone other than my mom (including my sisters and me).
We think it may have been started by my younger sister who used to tease him when she wpuld walk with him to the store and back. She used to say "oh, Jake I don't know where we are! We are lost and I don't know how to get home." She did it all the time because she thought it was funny because he would become hysterical.
Until recently, we didnt see how anxious he gets about it still. Last school year, the bus driver missed a stop and had to back track. My brother was paying attention and noticed that he wasn't going the right way and when the driver ended up at a stop he recognized (the one right before my brothers) my brother bolted off the bus and ran home as fast as he could terrified he would never see my mom again.
Any time there is a field trip he says he doesn't want to go and gets a bad stomache ache and is nervous and terrified. Every day before school he says he doesnt feel well and doesnt think he should go.
My mom got a call last night from his teacher about some homework my brother hasn't turned in from when he was sick. They got to talking about my brothers fear and the teacher said it all makes sense now. She said that he is having a real problem concentrating and always looks nervous and distracted and she has to constantly say something to snap him back to reality. She said she would talk to the school psychologist about it and see what he thinks.
I suggested my mom pick him up and drop him off at school but she doesn't know if that is the right thing to do. She doesn't want to play into his fear and make things worse. I also suggested she pick him up drop him off for a while, then let him ride the bus there and pick him up, and then ease into him riding both ways again. I have also suggested a prepaid phone in his backpack.
But, I thought I would ask here what you all thought!
Thanks!
We think it may have been started by my younger sister who used to tease him when she wpuld walk with him to the store and back. She used to say "oh, Jake I don't know where we are! We are lost and I don't know how to get home." She did it all the time because she thought it was funny because he would become hysterical.
Until recently, we didnt see how anxious he gets about it still. Last school year, the bus driver missed a stop and had to back track. My brother was paying attention and noticed that he wasn't going the right way and when the driver ended up at a stop he recognized (the one right before my brothers) my brother bolted off the bus and ran home as fast as he could terrified he would never see my mom again.
Any time there is a field trip he says he doesn't want to go and gets a bad stomache ache and is nervous and terrified. Every day before school he says he doesnt feel well and doesnt think he should go.
My mom got a call last night from his teacher about some homework my brother hasn't turned in from when he was sick. They got to talking about my brothers fear and the teacher said it all makes sense now. She said that he is having a real problem concentrating and always looks nervous and distracted and she has to constantly say something to snap him back to reality. She said she would talk to the school psychologist about it and see what he thinks.
I suggested my mom pick him up and drop him off at school but she doesn't know if that is the right thing to do. She doesn't want to play into his fear and make things worse. I also suggested she pick him up drop him off for a while, then let him ride the bus there and pick him up, and then ease into him riding both ways again. I have also suggested a prepaid phone in his backpack.
But, I thought I would ask here what you all thought!
Thanks!
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