Our first daughter was a social butterfly and did great in large gatherings... working the crowd so to say. We had to find ways to reinforce her attachment to us and that included pulling her down off center stage. Our second daughter had the exact opposite personality. She became a koala climbing Daddy every time we got in a new group, noisy restaurant or even big park. We found that bringing groups of friends/family into our home (where she was already comfortable) and introducing "chaos" in a safe place allowed her to then handle public group settings much better. It still took 6 months for her to trust the nursery at church. We've found that our reaction to a crowd affects how well she handles new situations. Part of the issue with large crowds is her inability to pick out our voices due to her being deaf in one ear. When she can't hear us, she needs to be attached to us to feel comfortable. We're still learning and trying new situations with her. She takes longer than most kids but she is still moving forward just at her own pace.