Hi
My DD11 also has anxiety and has had phobias relating to various forms of transportation (e.g. buses and trains). I have to say - it's great that your DD is able to talk to the teacher and school counselor about it! My DD would have a lot of trouble doing that.
Is it possible that when your DD is with the class, she will feel anxious but end up going along with her peers on the escalator? Sometimes that might actually work. Would she be OK going on it with a special friend? Or holding the teacher's hand? Sometimes the teacher can find a way to do this without making a child stand out. If she were to refuse to get on the escalator, do they have an alternative plan (e.g. the stairs?)
With my DD, we were forced to take a more gradual approach to de-sensitize and help her get used to the things she was worried about. She developed her anxiety last year and on the first class trip she refused to even get out of the car when I took her to school. Next field trip, I decided to go along with her and sat with her on the school bus (not sure if going on the field trip is possible for you?). The one after that, she was able to sit on the bus with her teacher.
Practising something that is hard to do can be helpful - we did this with train travel (e.g. going just one or 2 stops, then going longer, and so on).
Is it possible for you to practise riding escalators with your daughter? Maybe start with just standing near the escalator; then try riding it - as many times as she is able to - ideally with gradually less support from you each time...
Also, is it something specific about the escalator that bothers her - the sound, the vibration? Is there any way to mitigate the sensory issues?
Good luck - I know how stressful these situations can be.
For her it's a problem with heights and my guess it's also the combination of the height and moving simultaneously. She will sometimes have problems with regular stairs. This past summer we went on a trip to a ghost town and we went into this house from the 19th century. She climbed up the staircase to the second story no problem but when it came time to go back down she had a complete meltdown, crying and panicking. We couldn't get her out. At one point dh attempted to pick her up and carry her down and she ended up flailing her arms and legs and screaming. I was afraid she'd kick a hole in the wall of this historical landmark. She ended up scooting down the stairs on her bottom.
My guess is if I don't do anything about this she will probably feel peer pressured into going on it. She says she's not only afraid of the escalators but also is worried about embarrassing herself by squatting or crouching on the escalator.
I honestly think she'll get through it, she won't have a meltdown in front of her class. That's why I'm hesitant to create an 'out' for her. Yet I'd like her to have someone there for support. Her teacher isn't exactly lovey dovey so I don't anticipate her being very supportive. I know the other staff member who is going that might be a good option for being her support person. I may go in and talk to her personally and ask her to help dd when going on the escalator.
