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My 8 yo has severe escalating anxiety about school (no bullying or other issues). She is at the point she is absolutely refusing to go to school; she will run out of the house in the mornings to avoid me (we live on acreage so no safety issue there), I will end up having to chase her down and physically carry her to the car, she completely hysterical on the drive, as well as crying and saying she wishes she was not alive. She is always fine at the end of the day but today I could not handle it and told her we were done with school before turning the car around and taking her home. She only has 5 days left, and we are having to switch schools next year anyway. Do I force school for these next 5 days, with how severe this is, or should I let go of this school year and focus on reducing accommodations and encouraging her over the Summer? I am buying the book but just heard about it today after seeing a webinar that included Dr. Eli Lebowitz. Please help me... I was sobbing myself as I watched this webinar; I've completely reached my tipping point here.

We have custody of our 14 year old grandson who is neurodivergent. High functioning ASD and ADHD. He came to live with us in 2019 after years of family dysfunction, alcoholism and finally his parents divorced and weren't able to care for him. Then the pandemic. He now won't take his mask off in public. Won't even show his friends at school his face. It is not because of fear of germs. He told me he doesn't want anyone seeing his face. He only let's us see it at home. He has a few friendsbut has lagging social skills. Also he started wearing a headand covering his eyebrows and never takes it off except in the shower. Won't allow us to see his eyebrows. Also will not ever take his socks off in front of anyone. That issue started about a year or 2 before the mask and headband situation. He used to enjoy swimming but now can't because he can't let anyone see his feet. I thought he would just get over all because of what peers would think. He said he would take his mask off on the last day of school last year. But the more the kids bugged him and kept asking to see his face the more he refused and never did. We homeschooled the first part of this school year because his mental health was getting pretty bad last year. He's back in school now on a hybrid schedule and he still won't show his face. We want him to get a summer job next summer when he's 15. Seems like he needs to work through this issue. I need help figuring out what this is. Treatment cant happen if we don't know what it is. He refuses to talk to a counselor and gets mad when we try to talk about it. I have an appointment scheduled with a pediatrician in a few weeks to maybe get an evaluation. He's not on any medication he won't even consider it. What should we do?

Hello all! Our next virtual SPACE group will begin July 12th, 2023 and we are now conducting intakes for this group! The group meets virtually on Wednesdays at 12pm EST for 10 weeks in a row. You can read more below but please let me know if you have any questions! ________________________________________________________ Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) is a short term parent-based intervention designed to treat a range of anxiety disorders in youth. Treatment focuses on helping caregivers to a) respond supportively to their child’s anxiety with a combination of validation and confidence, and b) reduce reinforcing or accommodating their child’s anxiety. By exclusively focusing on changing parental behavior instead of youth behavior, SPACE reduces the escalation families often experience when trying to force youth to change course and empowers parents to take action to support their youth. As a parent-based intervention, youth involvement is not required for any portion of treatment, making it an ideal option for caregivers of youth who are unwilling or unable to engage in their own treatment. SPACE is also a great adjunct for caregivers when their youth is engaged in individual treatment, as SPACE solely focuses on caregiver behavior. We have found SPACE is often a necessary first step as ongoing parental accommodation regularly interferes with youth being motivated for change on their own.  While the target of treatment is the youth’s anxiety, most parents find SPACE improves their own well-being and sense of competence in navigating their child’s anxiety.  The SPACE group at TAP consists of 10, one-hour virtual groups made up of caregivers of anxious youth under 18. The group covers all of the same material that would be delivered individually, while also allowing caregivers to learn from and support each other. Groups include written materials, didactic discussions, coping skills practice and group-based processing. Spots in our SPACE group are limited in order to ensure individualized attention in the group setting. For caregivers seeking additional guidance, one-on-one “Consultation” hours during or after the completion of the SPACE group are available for an additional fee.  Rule outs for this group include caregivers of youth: with significant cognitive impairment, severe unaddressed mental health symptoms such as psychosis, bipolar disorder and significant substance use. While we offer SPACE to caregivers of young adults on an individual basis, the SPACE group is currently only available to caregivers of youth 18 and younger. While SPACE can be effective for youth who experience SI/SH urges and actions tied to underlying anxiety, SPACE group is not appropriate for youth who are regularly engaging in high risk behavior prompted by symptoms beyond anxiety.  You can learn more about the SPACE program and SPACE offerings at TAP here: https://www.tapclinicnc.com/space. Limited sliding scale spots are available. Please contact zachary@tapclinicnc.com with any questions.