Signs of Anxiety in Children with ADHD

Some signs of anxiety are obvious to people while others take a bit more perception to notice. While everyone faces anxiety and stress from time to time, those with ADHD find it hard to control their behavior once the anxiety sets in. The sooner you notice these signs, the easier it is to intervene and assist the child to maintain appropriate behavior and use positive coping skills to deal with the anxiety. Paying special attention to what brings on this anxiety is also a great way to learn about triggers so that you can help your child to avoid them or deal with them appropriately.

Scratching. One of the smaller signs of anxiety is scratching. This may mean that the child is scratching their scalp, facial area or appendages. It may even start as a rubbing motion rather than scratching. This is a sign that the nervous system is experiencing a heightened level of anxiety and is a clear indicator that the child might benefit from being removed from the situation or may need help calming down.

Licking lips. Some people experience a dry mouth when they become anxious. This can be noticed when the child begins to lick their lips repeatedly. In fact, this is a great cue for you to get them out of the situation by asking them if they need to go get a drink.

Picking fingernails. Some people pick at their fingers while others actually chew on the nail. In a way, this is how children assert control in their life when they feel they have none. Pay attention to what is currently going on so that you can help the child with ADHD to cope with similar situations.

Bouncing legs. It's hard not to notice when someone has their leg bouncing or swinging back and forth. For children with ADHD, this may be a sign of anxiety or it may be a coping skill they are using when they just can't sit still.

Change in eye contact. This behavior can go one of two ways with children who have ADHD. They may either seek out eye contact as a silent plea for help or they may avoid eye contact when they normally wouldn't. This may be a sign that they have become anxious enough to be unable to visually focus on one spot for any length of time.

Muttering, speaking out of turn, making noises or singing to self. Any of these vocal cues can be a sign that the child with ADHD is struggling to maintain control.

Remember that the child with ADHD may become anxious over things that you normally wouldn't. That because they have ADHD as well as the fact that they are individuals and each individual has their own source of stress. You can't always remove them from the stressors because it may not be possible and also because they do need to learn how to cope with stress. However, teaching coping skills in small doses will probably be more effective than teaching them a lot of coping skills all at once. Think about how you feel when you start to get anxious, then multiply that by about 5 and you may have some understanding of how the child with ADHD feels.