Fourth Edition, September 2011

Some of the more common signs a child may be struggling 
with anxiety

Frequent absences

Refusal to join in school social activities

Decline in grades or unable to work to expectations

Often spends time alone, has few friends, or has great diffi
culty making friends

Physical complaints that are not attributable to a health problem

Excessive worrying about homework or grades

Frequent bouts of tears

Easily frustrated

Fear of new situations
Educational implications
Anxiety can often be a primary contributing factor in poor school performance. Students who have an 
anxiety disorder can become easily frustrated and have diffi
culty completing their work; or they may 
simply refuse to do the work because they feel they won’t do it right.
In classroom situations, these children may appear to be shy: they may be reluctant to do group work or 
speak out in class. Fears of being embarrassed or failing may result in refusal to go to school. Other children 
with anxiety at school may act out with troublesome behaviours. Obviously, the disruptive behaviour is not help-
ful in solving the problem, but in the moment, it is an alternative to the dreadful anxious feelings.
Children with perfectionist tendencies set impossibly high standards for themselves. They may show extreme anx-
iety over not achieving this perfection and dissatisfaction with their school performance. These expectations hinder 
completing an assignment or even attempting schoolwork (because there is ‘always room for improvement’).
Children who are perfectionists are consumed by fears, especially of social or academic failure. Perfection-
ism can have a crippling infl uence when coupled with a young child’s immaturity and limited skills.
The irony is that those high standards can actually get in the way of peak performance; all of that trying 
to be perfect becomes an obstacle instead of a means of achieving a goal.

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B 3
Anxiety Problems
Making a Diff erence: An Educators’ Guide to Child and Youth Mental Health Problems
www.cymhin.ca