Toddler Anxiety

[McDowellMaMa]

I have an almost 2 yr old nephew who has enormous screaming fits anywhere were there are too many people. They are so enormous that my sister-in-law was recently kicked out of a business. He can not be separated AT ALL from his mom or dad if not at home. Even at family functions he screams and crys until they leave. I have read up a little on Autism and social anxiety disorder, which he seems to me to have, but it not generally diagnosed until a later age. Has anyone else had the same or similar issues? Does anyone know anything about Autism or anxiety in toddlers?

[crunchy_mommy]

My 2yo would freak out if he weren't right near me in public places/parties/etc. I think some separation anxiety is normal & even healthy. In my DS's case, he does not have autism, and nothing in your post makes me think your nephew does either (though I'm sure there could be other things you didn't write that may have led you to consider it a possibility). I think it would be very hard to evaluate/diagnose social anxiety or autism in such a young child because the symptoms are so similar to normal toddler behaviors. That's why they aren't diagnosed until later, when most kids have outgrown otherwise 'typical' behaviors.

In my DS's case, he would scream if anyone (including his grandparents!) tried to hold him. He is starting to outgrow that but only if it's with familiar people AND if I'm right in his eyesight the whole time. He has a HUGE vocabulary, but he is almost completely mute around people aside from me & DH. He is just shy, needs lots of time to feel comfortable in new or busy settings, and gets overwhelmed easily.

[bodhitree]

I don't know a ton about it, but my little toddler was having very intense separation anxiety for months and months. Even if we were at home, I could not walk away from her and leave the room she was in without her throwing a big fit. As part of working on some other issues, we cut out gluten, and the anxiety went away. I know it might not be connected, but it was such a sudden change and exactly coincided with eliminating gluten. So it might be worth looking at possible food issues. And I know some people do a gluten-free diet for autism, so possibly there's some kind of connection there?

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by bodhitree 

I don't know a ton about it, but my little toddler was having very intense separation anxiety for months and months. Even if we were at home, I could not walk away from her and leave the room she was in without her throwing a big fit. As part of working on some other issues, we cut out gluten, and the anxiety went away. I know it might not be connected, but it was such a sudden change and exactly coincided with eliminating gluten. So it might be worth looking at possible food issues. And I know some people do a gluten-free diet for autism, so possibly there's some kind of connection there?

Interesting, my DS seemed to do better when *I* cut out gluten for myself -- but he still sometimes has gluten & I swear there is a correlation between ingesting gluten & his general mood (though not so much his anxiety)... but it's not clear-cut enough for me to say for sure, I'm still in the 'coincidence' camp until I can confirm it.