Are you looking for ways to support students who suffer from anxiety? If so, keep reading.

1. Praise those students in the classroom who demonstrate appropriate behavior.

2. Stop situations in which peers contribute to the learner’s nervous behaviors.

3. Assess the degree of task difficulty to ascertain whether the learner will require additional information, time, assistance, etc., to avoid becoming frustrated and engaging in nervous habits.

4. Talk with the learner to explain(a) what they are doing wrong (e.g., chewing on pencil, nail-biting, twirling objects, etc.) and (b) what they must be doing (e.g., practicing self-control, working on the task, performing duties, etc.).

5. Teach the learner ways to gain self-control (e.g., count to 10, walk away, talk with someone, etc.).

6. Take the learner away from the learning experience when they engage in nervous habits.

7. Give the learner a high interest learning experience they prefer.

8. Talk regularly with the learner to keep their involvement in class tasks.

9. Urge the learner to take part in quiet, calming learning activities (e.g., listen to music, read, etc.) when feeling restless and engaging in nervous behaviors.

10. Urge the learner to avoid ingesting any substance (e.g., drugs, alcohol, cold remedies, etc.) that might further alter their capacity and ability to keep self-control.

11. Give the learner many chances for social and academic success.

12. Show the learner the need to create self-monitoring skills to decrease nervous habits.

13. Urge the learner to lessen nervous behaviors such as nail-biting, knuckle-cracking, or chewing their lip/cheek by replacing them with a competing behavior (e.g., clench their fists together to avoid cracking their knuckles, suck on hard candy instead of chewing their lip/cheek, etc.).

14. Move out of their surroundings any object that may be used by the learner to take part in nervous habits (e.g., pencils, pens, rubber bands, paper clips, etc.).

15. Give the learner a predetermined signal when they engage in nervous habits.

16. Consider using an adaptive behavior management app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

17. Click here to learn about six bonus strategies for challenging problem behaviors and mastering classroom management.

18. Consider using a socio-emotional learning app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

19. Consider using an emotional intelligence app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.

20. Consider using a school counseling app. Click here to view a list of apps that we recommend.