Anxiety about elevators

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My 6 year old autistic nonverbal grandson has a real fear of elevators. He refuses to even walk past them. This poses problems in schol as he cannot go to any other classes because of this. Please anyone know of an ideas to perhaps disguise the elevator??

Has he seen a glass elevator? Fear is usually based in the unknown - it might help him if he can see how the elevator is working perhaps?

Maybe it is something to do with the sound, as to why he is afraid of them? In that case he could wear ear defenders around them, perhaps?

I have terrible anxiety, so great that I never enter any elevator alone. That's because I'm claustrophobic, but also because I have bizzare fear that elevator could fall off or get stucked between floors. I live on 5th floor and I always use stairs, even when I drag heavy bags full of groceries. And I don't mind it, it is actually and least, great cardio exercise that is good for my health .

Past them, like being near them is a problem, not just having to get in one?

I'd start by exposing him to the experience of being in front of them, and maybe like DuckHairback suggested, showing him how one works.

If there's a sensory component, like blitz suggests, it might become clear by observing him.

Has he been on one before? Has he had a bad experience on one?

I hate elevators and have learned to force myself to use them when I have to, but have been known to take many flights of stairs to avoid them. Mine stems from fear of falling, the feel of the motion of the elevator itself makes me feel extremely insecure. When the elevator stops and starts, plus the machine sounds it makes are very upsetting... being closed in a box, often with lots of other people... sensory nightmares plus!! ! No answers, just empathy.

I had plenty of fears growing up and all I remember is neither of my parents had patience. I never realized the trauma I endured because I was pushed or pulled in whatever direction my parents were going. I realized perhaps a bit too late in life that my fear(s) were merely a manifestation of projections my parents put on me or didn't help me through because of their fears. I was afraid of heights, and I have skydived twice so far. I was afraid of snakes, and I now own two pythons and yes, I have been bitten and realized it was no big deal and it was my fault each of the four times and could have been prevented. The same holds true for my claustrophobia when I first tried sensory deprivation therapy. I couldn't close the pod door until the third attempt.
My recommendation is to proceed as slowly as your grandson needs. How does your grandson feel about escalators?
Without the stress of the elevators in front of him is he able to articulate exactly what about the elevators he finds unsettling? Was he ever in an elevator? Was he ever traumatized in or near one to warrant his fear?
Maybe you could tell him that fear can be a normal reaction to unknown situations and see if he would be interested in learning more about them? If he says no you have more work cut out for you. If he indicates a desire for learning perhaps you could bring him to a low traffic place that has an elevator and speak with the management company explaining his fear and see if they could lock out a car with the doors open and see if you could get your grandson to walk in knowing that the doors will not close behind him. If you're lucky and under those conditions he walks in then you have a way to introduce the elevator car slowly to him, which is probably exactly what your grandson needs.
Good luck. We all need it.

I tried to suggest that it might be a good idea for the child to be checked for claustrophobia, but not to be explicit about it. If it is, an early treatment could be successful. What could also help.. one idea is to cover elevator walls and ceiling with mirrors so it visualy looks larger. And if doors could be made of glass so that light can enter in. Next one is if it could be a soundless one.

Also, if it not possible to put mirrors maybe painting the walls with child's favorite characters could help at least a little bit..

Last edited by DazyDaisy on 18 Mar 2024, 7:17 am, edited 1 time in total.

OP said he is non verbal so he's not going to be articulating anything. It's guess work unless he can express himself in some other way. Perhaps he could draw it?

I'm trying to think about what a 6 year old might find scary about an elevator.

I wonder if he's aware of the void behind the door when the elevator isn't there and feels he might fall? Or he's worried the doors will open as he passes and something nasty will come out?

Kids get some funny fears. I used to get freaked out by the old fashioned security cameras in department stores which were like domes with camera lenses sticking out. They'd swivel around like robot heads and stare at you. They seemed sentient to me and that was scary. Maybe he perceives a malignant intelligence behind the way elevators operate because so much is hidden. That was why suggested showing him a glass one.

I do take elevators whenever I have to but I find them very unsettling. The only thing that makes them okay is that the ride doesn't last long. Perhaps that could be what to focus on: creating a distraction that will allow seeing the elevator and riding in it to pass by relatively quickly while the child is engaged in some other task that takes his attention? Singing a song, reading a book, doing a dance routine, something like that. I don't know, it seems like something that a professional might need to weigh in on.

I find the whole idea of elevators disturbing: that they are a small box that moves up and down within a very tall narrow void, primarily, but also that you don't have contact with the outside, that you could get stuck, that the elevator could fall or stop, that you're at its mercy, that you are enclosed. I find glass elevators even more unsettling and I have to face away from the glass. I've been in elevators where a mechanical voice announces the floors and that too is disturbing. If I were 6 years old and nonverbal I don't think I would be able to bring myself to ride them.

In my case there was a lot I didn't like about elevators as a kid, the confined space, the smell, the bright lighting, and the lurch/queasy feeling when the elevator start moving.

Elevators aka lifts aren't my favourite thing either, but I can live with them e g if not on my own.

There are usually stairs or a fire escape as a backup in case of power failure - in fact I haven't seen any buildings in my country in which an elevator is the only alternative.

Has he had the opportunity to get familiar with elevators?

Or, from his viewpoint, are they really, really strange and unfamiliar?

If it is a matter of familiarity perhaps you could find an elevator that is usually idle, explain what elevators do, and let him "drive" the elevator. As in, let him hit the buttons and take rides up, and down, and up, and down...

Any reason he can't take the stairs? With doctors left and right urging everyone to take stairs instead of elevators, what school would force kids to be lazy? Isn't there a teacher or assistant who's willing to accompany him up the stairs if he's not able to navigate this independently? Nonverbal and autistic doesn't mean lacks the cognitive skills to take stairs to his next class.

This option should be checked into.