Hello, I am new here writing to get advice about how to help my 4 yo daughter. I am at my wits end about how to help and could use your guidance.

Briefly, when she was a few months old, she had the experience of her first power outage. My husband was giving her a bottle and she was watching the fan in our den when it, the lights and everything went out. It happened again a few months later.

Since then, she has had a severe fear of ceiling fans. She will not enter a room where they are off. She screams and runs out. We've asked her numerous times why and she seems to recall the baby episode. Last summer I thought we got over it before she started preschool - I took her early to get acquainted with the room and fans and we did a sticker chart. She seemed to take to it fine.

She still got upset by high ceiling fans in other places and managers have had to turn on fans to save her from a meltdown.

Over the summer, she has developed the additional fear of vents/exhaust fans (think the graduated size in public places). She screams bloody murder and puts her hands over her ears and looks down and again has an all out meltdown.

Now we are dealing with that AND the fans and lately it has taken on a new level at warehouse-type buildings with high ceiling fans. She has gymnastics in a place like this and two weeks in a row, when the fans were off or partially on, she went on all-out screaming/crying/hands over ears meltdown. When she calms down, she says it is because she is afraid she will get sucked up (vents) or be hit by a falling fan.

So, what to do? I've had her evaluated by one OT who said there could be some developmental delays and would need treatment. However she is fine in so many other ways and pretty articulate for her age. Another OT in the schools said she is perfectly fine and brushed off the fan/vent fear as "inappropriate" but when I pressed said merely to have her touch a fan. (which she has). Two very opposing views.

She has very good hearing, is very imaginative, and can be pretty intense with her interests in things. She is social and empathetic toward others. Has good friends. Her teacher says she is doing very well and has matured quite a bit over the summer.

Is this an OT issue? A spectrum issue? Or a plain old 4 yo phobia? And how to help her? I don't want her missing out on life over something we can help her with. And I don't want my anxieties over this to make her more upset.

Thanks so much!! So confusing!