The teenage years are associated with high levels of uncertainty and anxiety, compounded by academic and social demands, and physical and emotional changes. They can be especially tough for teenagers who learn differently.
This workbook contains a host of practical activities for teachers and other adults supporting young people with learning differences, whether at home or in the classroom. Drawing on their years of first hand experience, and up to the minute research, the authors outline a trans-diagnostic framework for identifying what might be behind a student's behaviour. They show how the first crucial step all practitioners must take is to work out what could be causing a teen's feelings of anxiety or uncertainty, and how this can be addressed.
The activities in this workbook are organised into three sections, each addressing one of the three key areas where anxiety or uncertainty can be found: the structural, sensory and social domains. The tried-and-tested worksheets and activities present a much-needed alternative to a diagnosis-led approach. They can be used with any teenager, with or without a diagnosis, in classroom settings, intervention groups, or one to one work. The Anxiety Workbook will help you to really understand and address the needs of the SEN students you support, thereby improving their well-being, confidence and self-esteem and empowering them to get the most out of their education.
Introduction
"I love it. Clare Ward and James Galpin begin...from the understanding that uncertainty connects us all. We each need to make sense of it, respond to it and learn to thrive without ever wholly overcoming it. This is a book that takes people's differences seriously, encourages us all to take the time to know and respond to each person that we are called upon to work with and gives us direct guidance as to how we can do so."
- Liz Pellicano, Professor, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
"The Anxiety Workbook is a well-timed and much needed book..and will resonate with teenagers, parents and professionals across the county. "
- Sarah Wild, Headteacher, Limpsfield Grange School
"A practical guide that makes the complex feel simple and will help teenagers, and the professionals who support them, make sense of an uncertain world."
- Dr Pooky Knightsmith
"This book is essential reading for anyone trying to facilitate wellbeing and reduce anxiety in everchanging uncertain contexts. This exemplary book gives multiple strategies for adults in their own right and in practice with adolescents to assist them to cope with potentially the most rapidly developing time of change and uncertainty in their lives. The strategies are based on extensive practice and findings and can be applied to many formal and informal educational situations. "
- Dr Esther Burkitt, Reader in Developmental Psychology
"The Anxiety Workbook for Supporting Teens who Learn Differently is a brilliant distillation of advice. Its arrival couldn't be more timely, with a focus on dealing with uncertainty at a time when uncertainty pervades everyday life due to the world pandemic. The book is exceptionally accessible with practical examples and frameworks that will be of use for all teachers and professionals working with young people who learn differently. I love how the book cultivates self-awareness by encouraging curiosity about the causes of behaviour and also how the exercises and discussions communicate acceptance of all that young people bring. Ultimately readers of this book will have new skills in preventing difficulties and managing problems as they arise all while strengthening adult-child relationships. It is a resource we can all learn from."
- Dr Bettina Hohnen, Clinical Psychologist and author of The Incredible Teenage Brain
"This workbook expertly brings together several key factors for anyone working with teenagers. Foremost for me is the focus upon individual need rather than any diagnostic label. The ever-increasing complexity of the SEN landscape for schools to navigate, risks many staff feeling ill-equipped to properly support learners. Addressing this, some of the fundamental questions posed in this much-needed book really help to re-focus us all on the core issues, such as the uncertainty we all face, how this impacts during adolescence and how we can really work effectively with all young people."
- Alison Wilcox, Education Director, Nasen