Meet Chelsea
Meet my friend Chelsea, a 5-year-old who cares deeply about her family and friends, wants to join in on all the fun, yet is often held back or misjudged because of her social anxiety, sensory overload and emotional dysregulation.
In the parent intake form, Chelsea’s parents said,
“We want her to be happy and have better control over her emotions as it’s very stressful for her as well as everyone else. We want her to be able to have good relationships. We want her to fit in with her peers and not be excluded.”
It was clear from the beginning, Chelsea’s parents had every intention of helping their daughter feel more comfortable in the world, but I wanted to help them have an entirely different perspective on the solution: Instead of helping Chelsea adapt to the world, could we adapt the world to Chelsea?
The main areas of focus for our work together addressed Chelsea’s:
✅ Social anxiety and new environments- she was experiencing the desire to attend birthday parties, have playdates or participate in group discussions at school, but feeling immediately anxious and overwhelmed with the social pressure and attention from peers and adults.
✅ Big, explosive meltdowns- these usually involved screaming, crying and sometimes even scratching herself.
✅ Dysregulation around transitions- particularly around the morning routines, but also had some challenges with transitioning to extra curricular activities.
Keep reading to find out some preliminary insights into these behaviors and what to expect over the next few weeks as we dig deeper.
