Hi there
I am a parent to a 6 year old daughter who has recently been exhibiting quite alot of anxiety and worries. My daughter has always been a quiet child, she really struggled to settle at nursery and then during her first year at school struggled to socialise with her peers. She would attach herself to one child and would play with them until another child approached then would go off on her own. This year she has opened up a little more, however her socialisation is still very based around one child, she will play with others if this one child is there, but if not then she will play on her own. She also attends gymnastics and swimming lessons which she enjoys, however she doesn't socialise with the other children.
On days out my daughter rarely relaxes, she spends alot of time looking around her and appearing very anxious, she is usually very keen to leave and on some occasions we have had to leave as she has been so uncomfortable. For example on a recent trip to the zoo my daughter would not look at the animals as she thought they were looking at her and it made her uncomfortable. We also recently took her to soft play, and while she enjoyed herself, if another child approached the area she was in she would leave mid play and go to a section where no other child was. She also worries alot about school transitions, moving to other classes and being late. She gets very upset in the mornings worrying about what time we should leave and refuses to go any way to school other than the normal route we take.
She doesn't have alot of confidence and struggles academically. She also has daytime and night time wetting issues which we have tried medication for with no effect. We have spoken to the school however they do not see as much of her anxiety and I wonder if she is masking her anxieties at school. She is a very fussy eater, she doesn't like alot of foods due to the smell and textures. We also struggle with clothing, for example she gets upset if her leggings wrinkle behind her knees. And she doesn't like loud noises so she won't go to the cinema, or public toilets (due to the hand dryer)
The GP had expressed some concerns, however with the school not seeing as much of her behaviour, I wondered whether this could be autism or if it is just simply anxiety?
I would appreciate any advice you could give as I am clueless what to do and where to go for help and guidance
Thanks
