Page 5 - ASD & Anxiety

ASD and Anxiety

Why can being in school be challenging for a child with ASD?
To understand anxiety in school, it is helpful to have a good
understanding of the characteristics of ASD first.

The social emotional difficulties in ASD often create a
misunderstanding of social situations. Taking someone else’s
perspective is hard for them, as well as understanding non-verbal
cues, such as body language, facial expressions and tone of voice.
Jokes, sarcasm, teasing and often fast social conversations can
easily lead to confusion and overwhelming feelings. As a result,
making and keeping friends, and group work can be challenging
(White et al., 2013).

Children with ASD have restricted and
repetitive behaviours and interests. Having
routines, rituals and sameness is important,
and unpredictable situations and change
can be very stressful. Being in school often
involves unpredicitible situations and change.
This can be very stressful for children with ASD. Studies show
that primary school students spend about 25% of their time in
school transitioning, going from home to school, from room to
playground, having changes in teachers and changing activities.
(Schmit, Alper, Raschke, & Ryndak, 2000; Tullis, Cannella-Malone,
& Payne, 2014).

Special interests are common, and children often
know everything about their favourite subject
of interest. They prefer to spend lots of time
focusing on this, or sharing their knowledge
with others if they get the chance. Although
helpful as rewards or as a distraction from
difficult situations, it can also be very time-