Part 5: School Interlude…
“With in-class learning put on hold, I watched Pierce’s anxiety melt away...”
During this time...school had transitioned to “distance learning”, and the kids were asked to tackle little projects and tasks and submit them through apps like Fresh Grade. Not much actual learning was taking place, but they were mostly fun, make-work projects that kept them busy - like making ice cream at home using Ziplock bags, ice and salt. With in-class learning put on hold, I watched Pierce’s anxiety melt away as the days stretched on and there was seemingly no return to school in sight. My happy boy was back. The glimmer and fun returned to him and my husband and I were determined to ensure that we preserved this.
Image Credit: Judy Beth Morris
As we were stumbling blindly navigating the “new normal” COVID imposed on us, my husband had talked to a friend - S - who’s young daughter was seeing a behavioural therapist. With their support, she was making huge progress with her social anxiety and selective mutism, and the friend suggested that perhaps this doctor could be a resource for us. The therapist happened to be an early adopter of virtual appointments to accommodate COVID times, which meant that they were still accepting and treating patients. My husband was willing to try…though I was less enthusiastic.
To share with you, this was a period in time - pre-diagnosis- where my husband and I had differing starting viewpoints on Pierce’s anxiety - not in a negative way, just different (and that was okay). His focus emanated from the fact that Pierce might be a naturally anxious child, where I believed his anxiety was the by-product of the challenges he was experiencing at school. In other words, I believed his struggles with learning, understanding the class material, and falling behind academically was what created the emotional stress and anxiety in my mind. So for me, a behavioural therapist was not the right fit for Pierce. It didn’t really matter who was right-we both could have been right, we both could have been wrong, we just didn’t know.
“...this was a period of time - pre-diagnosis- where my husband and I had differing starting viewpoints on Pierce’s anxiety. Not in a negative way, just different (and that’ was okay).”
Regardless of the root cause of Pierce’s anxiety, our priorities were thankfully always aligned in wanting to help our son, any way we can. Early intervention was the message that sounded loudly, and with limited options during the shutdown, and a glowing recommendation from S, we booked a session with the therapist. It was at least worth a try.