Anxiety Strategies for Neurodivergent Children: ADHD & Autism

Practical strategies to help children with ADHD, autism, or anxiety manage worries, fears, and big feelings. Support your child without walking on eggshells.

Managing Separation Anxiety: Your child becomes extremely distressed when separated from a parent or carer
Performance Anxiety Support: Your child freezes, panics, or refuses to participate in tests, presentations, or sports days
Social Anxiety in Children: Your child avoids social situations, won't speak to unfamiliar people, or hides behind you
Supporting a Perfectionist: Your child melts down over mistakes, won't try things unless they can do them perfectly
When Everything Feels Like a Catastrophe: Your child jumps to the worst-case scenario for every small problem
Worry Time Technique: Your child worries constantly throughout the day and can't switch off
Specific Fears and Phobias: Your child has intense, specific fears (dogs, loud noises, hand dryers, the dark) that limit daily life
A Worry Window: For when worries leak into everything. You can't focus, sleep, or enjoy anything because your brain keeps returning to the same anxious loop
Catch the Catastrophe: Your mind jumps straight to the worst-case ending. One unanswered text becomes 'they hate me'; a small mistake becomes 'I'll lose my job'
When You Can't Stand Not Knowing: For when not knowing how something will go (a reply, a result, a plan) is unbearable, so you over-research, seek reassurance, or spiral until you have an answer
Shrink the Dread Before It: The days before an appointment, call, or social thing are worse than the event itself. Anticipatory dread hijacks your whole week
Reset a Racing Body: For when anxiety hits your body first: racing heart, tight chest, shallow breath. Your thoughts spiral to match, and you need to bring the physical alarm down fast