Overcoming School Anxiety: Book Review

"This post was written for Family Review Network as part of a program for Overcoming School Anxiety and it's publisher, who supplied the book for review."

This year with both of my girl's in junior high, they were apprehensive for different reason. Regan really wanted to end her years at school on a high note. She has not always been the most successful student. She has displayed her temper on several occasions, and not been considered a model leader. She so badly wants to finish her eighth grade year as someone to look up to, and have the grades that will help her be successful in high school. With her disability she faces every year with a batch of new children that she has to get to know, and explain "why she walks in a walker", and "why she has braces on her legs". Coupled with her being a true teen with all kinds of anger issues it is no wonder she was worried with how school was going to go this year.

Just in time for school I read Diane Peters Mayer's book Overcoming School Anxiety. The book addresses being different in school and how to handle it. Regan is the only physically disabled child in her whole school district, so she tends to stand out no matter what. Most of the time she handles it all with grace and poise, but when she is nervous or angry then everything goes right out the window. She and I practiced some of the stress management skills talked about in the book, and we had a discussion about her limitations and her strengths that helped her face the first days with confidence.

We are now in the third week of school, and so far things have been smooth as far as her grades and expectations of her peers and teachers. She is happy that everything has been going so well, and is hoping that for the first time she will be included in the student leadership program at school. I think with the skills we have armed her with and the help I got from the book she will have a terrific year.