Separation Anxiety Disorder Case Study

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Most parents know and understand the struggle of sending their toddler off to school for the first time. Separation anxiety in children normal and happens often especially in situations such as, being sent off to school. In Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Model, one of the important points made was how within the microsystems, communications between where and who the child spends most of their time with is essential. It was stated that, the amount of quality relationships between the places the child spends the most time in is an important factor in development. To apply this to the situation of helping to ease separation anxiety associated with going to pre-school, the parent should establish a relationship with the teacher before school starts.

Separation anxiety is very common as children grow and develop. They may fear those few moments during daycare drop-off or that initial first meeting with a new babysitter. These children will often times grow out of this anxiety after they become familiar with their surroundings and caregivers. But, if they continue having these separation anxiety induced outbursts, even after they have been with a trusted caregiver for a time, parents and primary caregivers often worry about the well-being of their child and their child’s development. They may believe that their child has acquired a Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD). I selected this topic because I work with multiple toddlers in a center and their parents have expressed some minor worry towards whether or not their child suffers with SAD or if this anxiety is causing them delays. I would love to be able to know some minor details about this broad topic and refer them to the website and articles that I found helpful when writing this report. This topic is important because it is has many symptoms that are similar to regular and developmentally appropriate separation anxiety. When a child suffers from SAD, it is something that needs attention by a pediatric professional in order for it not to affect the child later in life.

A child wants to be liked and is bonding with their caregivers. This bonding is called “attachment.

When a child is removed from their home at a young age, the consequences can be more severe. During the ages three and four it is not good for a child to be moved but if they do get moved it is good to have a strong bond with their caregivers. If they get moved repeatedly, it makes their attachment issues more sever. Attachment issues create the following troubles such as; poor eye contact, antisocial, problems with learning and lack of physical affection. Theses are not abnormal for a child with theses issues(“Attachment”). There are two different types of attachment issues and they are the one that babies have which is insecure attachment and for older children it is also called Reactive Attachment Disorder. An infant with this disorder may not smile , or coo or make any sounds , or even does not reach out for you to hold them , they may also reject your affection like trying to soothe

Attachment disorder is the result of a bonding process that occurs between a child and caregiver during the first couple years of the child’s life. From the view of Mary Ainsworth, Harry Harlow, John Bowlby and Rene Spitz attachment disorder does severe damage depending on the child and the abuse level. This attachment break severely damages the heart and mind. It stops the child’s ability to care, love or trust. When a child

Today, the exact cause of Separation Anxiety Disorder is unknown (According to an article by Psychology Today). Although the exact cause is unknown, we do know of some risk factors. According to various articles, kids that come from very united families are more likely to develop SAD if separation from a parent occurs or a traumatic event such as, physical assault occurs. Boston Children’s Hospital says that, “…a child can also inherit that parent’s anxiety…” and that “…anxiety may be learned from family members and others who are noticeably stressed or anxious around a child.” Those are only some ways a kid might end up developing SAD. Various articles also suggest that a factor that seems to be common in kids with Separation Anxiety

Have you ever been attached to something? Have you ever thought or felt that your life couldn’t continue without this object? Separation anxiety is very common, statistic show that at least thirty three percent of the population has this disorder. This disorder is the fear of being separated from something or someone. The subject with the disorder views separation as detrimental to their well-being. Caregivers, stuff animals, money, and cell phones are examples of objects people have separation anxiety towards. Separation anxiety is very common in infants and children.

Separation anxiety disorder involves excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or attachment figures, usually parents.

Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) is a psychiatric illness that is characterized by problems with emotional attachments and usually presents itself around the age of five (Reactive attachment disorder, 2013). Parents or caregivers might notice that the child has emotional attachment issues by the age of one though (Reactive attachment disorder, 2013). The DSM-IV goes on to describe RAD as also including the first or second category (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). The first category describes a failure to interact in developmentally appropriate ways while the second category describes an inability discriminate appropriate attachments to different groups of people (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Boekamp (2008) describes

After Meesters modified Rosenthal’s definition, it was possible to diagnose correctly many more patients under the umbrella of SAD. Thus, as greater numbers of people were diagnosed, observed trends began to develop. Three in particular were noticed early on, and continue to prove true today. They included an overall lower rate of SAD in children compared to the general population, an increasing diagnosis rate in adolescents, and a much higher rate in adult females versus males. One study that became instrumental in establishing concrete evidence for the rates in children and adolescents was conducted after the inherent trends were noticed throughout the general population.

Attachment is a crucial part of development, as evidenced by these two disorders. This theory was the work of John Bowlby and Mary Ainsworth, in theory and in practice respectively. The theory is based upon the relationship developed between a child and caregiver beginning in infancy. There is also adult attachment theory, but that is less relevant to reactive attachment disorder. The attachment relationship

The anxious-avoidant children appear content during the absence of their attachment figure and not predominantly engrossed in seeking juxtaposition and soothing upon reunion. These children are anxious during separation and they learned to suppress their emotions (Berzoff, 2011). Disorganized children are particularly ambivalent upon reunion with their attachment figure, both synchronously approaching and avoiding contact. Most of the infants display a collapse of attachment strategies which results to dissociated

Twelve months before attending the agency the client began to demonstrate increasing levels of anxiety. This anxiety commenced with significant difficulties being separated from his mother or father at home, to go to school, stay with family and play with friends. The parents said the client’s behaviours included clinging on to them and chasing after them as they were leaving the house or school. He would also check their location in the house to confirm that they were still there. On occasion his behaviour deteriorated into tantrums, although this only happened at home. The parents also expressed concern that the boy’s teacher noticed he was refusing to eat at school. The parents also reported their child was unable to get to sleep without their presence. He would awaken with nightmares at least three times a week saying he was frightened something bad was happening to them. The parents stated that it was becoming increasingly difficult for them to manage their son’s behaviour.

SAD is one of the most commonly diagnosed anxiety disorders among children. It is completely normal for adolescents, especially in very young adolescents, to experience some degree of separation anxiety. In comparison, separation anxiety disorder is excessive worry or anxiety that goes beyond the expected amount for the child's developmental level. SAD is characterized by excessive anxiety concerning separation from home or from those to whom a child is attached. While some tend to believe that this anxiety disorder is more common among females than males, it has been determined that SAD occurs at approximately the same rate in males and females (Eisen & Schaefer, 2005). Separation Anxiety Disorder is not permanent. It can be cured; however children with SAD are at higher risk for the development of other anxiety disorders and depression not only in adolescence, but in adulthood as well. Studies have shown that children who are diagnosed with SAD are much more likely to have are much more likely to develop panic disorder, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and several others later in life. Studies have also shown that children diagnosed with SAD have similar symptoms that occur among them. Primary symptoms include excessive worry about potential harm to self or major attachment figures, frequent nightmares about separation, physical ailments such as nausea, headaches, stomach pains, as well as