5. Fight, Flight, Freeze: How Neurodivergent Kids Respond to Triggers

Kate and Dave dive into the complexities surrounding anxiety in neurodivergent children, particularly focusing on the role of the amygdala in their emotional responses. They discuss how neurodivergent people may experience heightened anxiety due to their brain interpreting everyday stimuli as threats, triggering a fight, flight, or freeze response. Kate and Dave offer insights into how parents and carers can support children by collaboratively reducing or mitigating triggers and incorporating strategies to regulate through the stress response.Ultimately, they highlight the importance of compassion and understanding as parents equip their neurodivergent children with strategies to face the world with confidence.Takeaways:· Neurodivergent children often experience heightened anxiety due to their unique brain processing, impacting their daily lives. · The amygdala plays a key role in interpreting stimuli, more often naming stimuli as threats in many neurodivergent people. · Ongoing exposure to triggers can raise baseline anxiety levels in neurodivergent people, making it vital for parents and carers to understand their experiences.· Reducing and mitigating triggers can reduce the frequency of the threat response.· Developing strategies for emotional regulation is vital for helping neurodivergent children navigate daily challenges and reduce anxiety. Visit our website hereTo financially support this podcast, donate at our GoFundMe page here.To read helpful articles from Kate, head to her Substack page, An Extraordinary NormalThis podcast is a part of the Faithful God Network. Discover more great podcasts at faithfulgod.netTo continue thinking about meltdowns, see Kate's 3-part series of articles here: https://anextraordinarynormal.substack.com/p/neurodivergent-meltdowns-part-1CitationsAndrews, D. S., Aksman, L., Kerns, C. M., Lee, J. K., Winder-Patel, B. M., Harvey, D. J., Waizbard-Bartov, E., Heath, B., Solomon, M., Rogers, S. J., Altmann, A., Nordahl, C. W., & Amaral, D. G. (2022). Association of Amygdala Development With Different Forms of Anxiety in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biological Psychiatry (1969), 91(11), 977–987. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.01.016 - This study shows that in autism, differences in amygdala development are linked to higher anxiety.Attwood, T. (n.d.). The impact of anxiety on daily life. Attwood and Garnett Events. https://www.attwoodandgarnettevents.com/blogs/news/autism-the-impact-of-anxiety-on-daily-lifeCitkowska-Kisielewska, A., Rutkowski, K., Sobański, J. A., Dembińska, E., & Mielimąka, M. (2019). Anxiety symptoms in obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder. Psychiatria Polska, 53(4), 845–864. https://doi.org/10.12740/PP/105378Vasa, R. A., Keefer, A., McDonald, R. G., Hunsche, M. C., & Kerns, C. M. (2020). A scoping review of anxiety in young children with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Research, 13, 2038–2057. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2358Tottenham, N., Hertzig, M. E., Gillespie-Lynch, K., Gilhooly, T., Millner, A. J., & Casey, B. J. (2014). Elevated amygdala response to faces and gaze aversion in autism spectrum disorder. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 9(1), Article nst050. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nst050 – This study found that autistic participants often had heightened amygdala responses to faces, especially neutral ones, and tended to avoid eye contact as a way of managing that over-arousal.Mentioned in this episode:Neurodiversity and the Family of God WebinarTo find out more about the webinar and book tickets, head to faithfulgod.net/webinar