Separation anxiety disorder involves the “excessive fear or anxiety concerning separation from home or attachment figures,” (APA, 2013). Separation anxiety usually emerges when the individual is a child and is actually a common stage of development in young children. However, if the anxiety continues and intensifies to the point of interfering with the child’s life, it becomes a disorder. In regards to diagnosis, the level of anxiety and fear must be significantly disproportionate to their developmental age. In other words, a toddler is bound to have higher levels of separation anxiety when separated from his or her parents because they’re at the age level where it is a new experience for them – i.e. daycare or preschool. If this same level
