Published on 12, July, 2020
Evening,
I've never posted here before so don't know whether this is appropriate but I am in desperate need of some help forming strategies to aide my 8 year old daughter with her outright terror of flies.
The sun is shining which is great news for most of the world but I'm afraid a certain gut stirring dread is attached to the warm summer rays in our household. The fear is very real and very consuming. All windows and doors must be shut and any family member being outside the house can spark a tremendous melt down. The strange thing is that although the fly fear is ever present in our lives, it is much, much worse when we're at home.
Has anybody experienced this either as a parent or has anybody had these fears themselves? Any help that can be offered would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks in advance.
I can relate! My son is nine and this has been a growing problem for the past few years! Like you, warmer weather means less time outside for our family. We have tried SO many different strategies but his anxiety around anything that flies is still very present. Getting him to articulate exactly what he is scared of has been hard. He has managed to convey that he is scared of the sting of bees and wasps and that he thinks he will die. We have reassured - bought literature- taken him to enclosed bee hives - spoken to bee experts - I've even been stung in front of him (and worked very hard to seem unaffected by it!). The problem is - he cannot differentiate between anything that flies outdoors when the panic sets in. He cannot tell the difference between a gnat and a bee! I've made visuals and all sorts to help but in his panic, no logic goes in. We've even bought insect toys - quite realistic and used them in play at home - he quite liked that but it didn't really do anything to combat his very real terror when outdoors. We have now decided to turn to the help of a local autism charity that provides counselling - expensive but worth it if it helps. The problem is FAR more prevalent at home but this seems to be the case with nearly all his anxieties and worries. We're going to Australia in December and I feel a bit sick at the thought!!! Good luck - it is a very difficult situation X
PS- my son attends an autism unit and his teacher has commented that nearly all of the children there have a dread fear of flying insects.