What We Assess/Treat
Anxiety
You know your child better than anyone. If something feels off at school, hard mornings, big feelings after class, or meetings that go nowhere, you’re in the right place.
When worry is showing up at school, Crescent helps families get a fuller picture and a next step.
In a crisis? Call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline), or call 911. This website is not monitored for emergencies.
Does this sound familiar?
Worry does not always look like worry.
Anxiety in a school-aged child does not always look like worry. Sometimes it looks like a stomachache. Sometimes it looks like a fight about leaving the house. Sometimes it looks like a child who is one person at home and another at school.
You might recognize one or more of these:
School mornings end in tears, stomachaches, or a battle about going at all.
Your child has started saying no to things they used to enjoy.
Sleep is lighter. Homework takes longer. Small tasks feel huge.
The school describes a child you barely recognize.
Meetings keep happening, and you still don’t have a picture you trust of what’s going on.
If some of this sounds like your house, trust your instincts. No single pattern settles whether your child has anxiety. You don’t need a name for it before you reach out.
What this is
An alarm meant to help, stuck on.
Worry is a normal alarm. When the alarm stays on, school gets harder. A child who is anxious may avoid the classroom, freeze on work they can do, or melt down over transitions that used to be easy. From the outside, that can look like a behavior problem, a learning problem, or “not trying.”
Sometimes worry travels with questions about attention or reading. Families come to Crescent because the picture at school doesn’t match the child they know, and they want answers.
An evaluation can help sort what is getting in the way.
How Crescent can help with anxiety
A fuller picture, and a next step.
Families often arrive with worry showing up at school. Sometimes the useful next step is a fuller picture of how your child is actually functioning at home and at school. Sometimes it is counseling for your child, or coaching for you on how to respond when worry takes over the morning.
When you need a fuller picture of the school day
Psychoeducational assessment
When you need a fuller picture of learning, attention, and how worry is showing up in the school day.
See the assessment pageWhen the school’s picture does not match
Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE)
An evaluation done outside the school, when the school’s picture of your child doesn’t match the child you know. An IEE can inform an Individualized Education Program (IEP) or a Section 504 plan (504). It does not take a side against the district.
See the IEE pageWhen your child needs a place to talk
Counseling
Individual counseling focused on how worry is affecting school: getting through the door, staying in class, and handling the moments that feel too big.
See counseling
If you want support for yourself as the parent, parent coaching is built for that. Counseling at Crescent is focused on worry as it affects learning and school. If a child needs treatment for a more serious mood condition, we help the family find the right provider.
Who you’ll work with
Who you’ll work with.
Crescent is led by Marcia Lynn Miller, Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3015). She brings more than twenty years in special education, and experience on both sides of the table: leading district programs and working with individual families.
You’ll work directly with the person handling your child’s evaluation.
About Crescent
What to expect
Reaching out is one more hard thing.
Here is what happens next. You stay in the driver’s seat. Crescent carries the load with you for a time, so you can take it back with a fuller picture.
- 1
Tell us what’s happening.
Use the contact form, in your own words. “School mornings have fallen apart” is enough. You don’t need the right clinical language. Please don’t send records or detailed health information through the public form.
- 2
We listen, then we explain.
Crescent will help you see whether a psychoeducational assessment, an Independent Educational Evaluation, counseling, or parent coaching is the useful next step. If an evaluation is not the right fit, we’ll say so.
- 3
If an evaluation is the path,
we look at how your child is actually functioning at home and at school, test for what the questions call for, and turn the results into a plan you can use.
Common questions
Questions parents ask.
Does noticing these things mean my child has anxiety?
Not on its own. Trust what you are seeing. A diagnosis comes from a careful look at your child rather than from a list, and that is what an evaluation is for.
Do you offer counseling for anxiety?
Yes, when worry is getting in the way of learning, attendance, or behavior at school. Counseling focuses on those school-connected concerns, and parent coaching is available if you want support in how to respond at home. Some families start with an evaluation to understand what is underneath the worry first. If a child needs treatment for a more serious mood condition, we help the family find the right provider.
The school already tested my child. Is there still a reason to call?
Yes, if the school’s picture still doesn’t match the child you know. That is often when families ask about an Independent Educational Evaluation. A consultation can help you sort whether that’s the useful next step.
What if I also have questions about attention, reading, or autism?
Those questions often travel together. You don’t have to pick the “right” label before you reach out. See ADHD, Autism, and Dyslexia, or start with What We Assess/Treat.
Do I need a diagnosis, an IEP, or a 504 plan before I contact Crescent?
No. You can reach out because something feels off. Trust your instincts.
Signs by age
How anxiety shows up at different ages
Early childhood
excessive separation distress
strong fear responses to everyday situations
difficulty with transitions
frequent reassurance-seeking
physical complaints like stomachaches
emotional meltdowns when overwhelmed.
Elementary school age
school refusal or frequent visits to the nurse
perfectionism and fear of mistakes
task avoidance
sleep trouble and nightmares
unexplained physical complaints
irritability or outbursts after school.
Adolescence
chronic worry or rumination
avoidance of school, social situations, or responsibilities
panic symptoms such as a racing heart, shortness of breath, or dizziness
concentration difficulty from anxious thoughts
social withdrawal
burnout.
Over time
How anxiety changes as your child grows
Anxiety shifts as children mature and demands increase. Young children tend to show it through clinging, tantrums, or physical symptoms. School-age children develop avoidance, perfectionism, or school-related distress. Adolescents more often internalize it, which can lead to panic, low mood, or disengagement. High-achieving, well-behaved students are the ones whose anxiety is most often overlooked.
Types
Types of anxiety
- Generalized anxiety: excessive worry across many areas of life.
- Separation anxiety: intense distress when away from caregivers.
- Social anxiety: fear of judgment, embarrassment, or rejection.
- Specific phobias: intense fear of a particular object or situation.
- Panic: sudden episodes of intense physical fear responses.
Alongside
What anxiety often occurs alongside
Anxiety frequently occurs with ADHD, autism, and learning differences such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia, and it can develop in response to trauma or chronic stress. It often develops when a learning or regulation need has gone unmet.
At school
How anxiety affects school
Anxiety affects attention, working memory, and test performance. It shapes academic confidence, class participation, and engagement, and it drives attendance problems and school avoidance. Over time it can wear down self-esteem and set avoidance patterns that narrow what a child is willing to try.
Myth and reality
Myth and reality
Myth
Anxious children are just sensitive or dramatic.
Reality
Anxiety reflects real nervous-system distress, not attention-seeking.
Myth
Reassurance makes anxiety go away.
Reality
Excessive reassurance can reinforce anxiety over time.
Myth
Anxiety always looks like fear or sadness.
Reality
It often shows up as irritability, avoidance, perfectionism, or physical complaints.
Myth
Children outgrow anxiety on their own.
Reality
Untreated anxiety often persists or intensifies as demands increase.
Where we work
By appointment, serving California’s Central Valley and Central Coast.
In person in Fresno, Madera, Merced, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties. Virtual throughout California.
Reviewed by Marcia Lynn Miller, Licensed Educational Psychologist (LEP #3015), Crescent Psychological Services.
Last reviewed August 28, 2026.
This page is general information. It is not a diagnosis, not a promise of a particular result, and not a substitute for an evaluation or care from a licensed professional. If you are concerned about your child, please reach out.
988: If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911. This website is not monitored and is not for emergencies.
Start with a conversation
Restore your peace.
You do not have to carry this by yourself. Tell us what’s happening, and let’s figure it out together.
Marcia Lynn Miller, LEP #3015 · Independent practice
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