2. Separation
Anxiety
Disorder
Currently serving as a psychologist at the ACS Assessment and
Treatment Center in Michigan,Charlene Kushler works with adults
and children on life issues. Among the disorders Charlene Kushler
treats is separation anxiety, which mostly affects children.
3. Separation
Anxiety
Disorder
Newborns do not yet have a sense of object permanence, or the
notion that things do not cease to exist when they are not visible,
until 36 months of age.Therefore, it is not uncommon for very
young children to experience distress when someone significant to
them, on whom they depend, is not present. A clinician can help a
parent learn techniques to help a young child experience less
stress when the parent is absent. Although separation anxiety is
common before the age of 36 months of age, its presence after
that time may reflect the need to check in with a clinician to
ensure that the child learns age-appropriate coping skills.
4. Separation
Anxiety
Disorder
Although separation anxiety slowly begins to resolve itself for the
toddler in the course of normal human development, separation
anxiety may appear at the point of transition of a child who is
beginning a preschool or is entering kindergarten. Separation
anxiety is considered a disorder if it lasts longer than four weeks.
Therapy can help the child make the adjustment and lower anxiety
so that the child can feel comfortable in the new setting. Equally
prevalent in males and females, separation anxiety disorder
affects 4 to 5 percent of children aged 7 to 11 and a little over 1
percent of teenagers.
