What can parents do about school refusal?

Safe to feel: Talk to your child, validate their concerns, avoid lecturing. ​Talk about what's bothering them, while at the same time making it clear that a plan will be made to return to school. Keep in mind, though, that some children can't describe what is bothering them.

What is the best treatment for school refusal?

Treatments include cognitive behavior therapy, educational-support therapy, pharmacotherapy, and sometimes parent-teacher interventions. Providers may provide psychoeducational support for the child and parents, monitor medications, and help with a referral to more intensive psychotherapy.

How can I help my student with school refusal?

Is school refusal a mental illness?

School refusal, also known as school avoidance and school phobia, is not classified as a mental illness by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5).

What can a parent do when a child refuses to go to school?

How Can Therapists Help Children with School Refusal? Mona Delahooke, PhD

Should you force a child with anxiety to go to school?

Avoid forcing your child to go to school.

Try not to shout, tell them off or force them into school. Making them go in without changing anything is likely to make their anxiety worse in the long-term. Even though they might physically get to school, they probably won't be in a position to learn either.

What to do if my 13 year old refuses to go to school?

If your teenager is repeatedly refusing to go to school, communicate with teachers or school counselors so they know why your child is struggling to get to class and can provide extra support. For example, school staff may wish to discuss setting up a 504 plan.

How common is school refusal?

The most widely accepted prevalence rate is 1–2% of school-aged children. In clinic-referred youth samples the prevalence rate is 5–15%. There are no known relationships between school refusal behavior and gender, income level, or race.

What medication is used for school refusal anxiety?

Separation Anxiety and School Refusal Medication: Tricyclic Antidepressants, Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors, Anxiolytic Agents, Antihistamines, Beta-Adrenergic Blocking Agents, Anticonvulsants, Alpha-Adrenergic Agents.

Is school avoidance a diagnosis?

School Avoidance is Not a Diagnosis

Therefore, there is no diagnostic code for school avoidance in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5, which is the definitive authority that defines and classifies mental health disorders.

Should I punish my child for school refusal?

This phenomenon, known as school refusal, isn't a behavior problem. You can't punish your child out of school refusal. Instead, it's a form of anxiety that demands treatment.

Can ADHD cause school refusal?

Their study showed that children with ADHD, who also had anxiety, depression, or phobias, were more prone to skip school for over 14 days compared to the children with ADHD only (Classi et al., 2012). This means that having ADHD and internalized problems can increase the risk of being absent from school.

How do you get a child to read when they refuse?

Try to make it relaxing and low-key for a short part of the day. Share something of your own. Read aloud some funny or interesting parts of a book that you're reading. Draw your child in with a riddle book for kids, a passage from Sports Illustrated, or a newspaper story.

How do you break a school refusal?

Treatment providers working with kids who have school refusal will often use cognitive behavioral therapy, which helps kids learn to manage their anxious thoughts and face their fears. While kids who are anxious might disagree, the best way to get over anxiety is actually to get more comfortable with feeling anxious.

Can anxiety cause school refusal?

When children aren't able to attend school, it's often due to extreme anxiety or phobia. This is sometimes known as 'school refusal'. The term 'school refusal' makes it seem like the child has a choice, however the anxiety is usually so severe it's impossible for them to face it.

What are the risks of school refusal?

The short-term consequences of school refusal behavior include declining academic status, social alienation, increased risk of legal trouble, family conflict, and severe disruption in a family's daily routine.

How do you deal with school refusal due to anxiety?

The best way to get children back to school is by working as a team with the school. If school refusal is related to anxiety or depression, children might need mental health support. It's good to acknowledge children's feelings about school, but let them know that you expect them to go back to school.

How to do exposure therapy with kids?

Exposure therapists work collaboratively with the child and family to identify exposure tasks that offer the ideal level of challenge, and as that task gets easier with practice, they gradually move up to next ideal task. The provider also assesses the scope of concern related to the avoidance behaviors.

What is the best treatment for school anxiety?

“There are several ways to address anxiety, such as with a particular type of therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). CBT teaches the child and parent skills to address and confront anxiety,” Chiappini explains. Your child's practitioner may also recommend medication to address anxiety.

What is the most common age for school refusal?

Approximately 1 to 5 percent of all school-aged children have school refusal. The rate is similar between boys and girls. Although school refusal occurs at all ages, it is more common in children five, six, 10, and 11 years of age.

Is school refusal emotional disturbance?

School refusal is often described as a disorder of a child who refuses to go to school on a regular basis or has problems staying in school. Some of the criteria commonly found in school refusal matters involves a student with severe emotional distresses about attending school.

What are the somatic symptoms of school refusal?

School refusal (SR) is commonly associated with somatic symptoms that are temporally related to school attendance. Abdominal pain, headache, vomiting, and musculoskeletal pain are frequently encountered and are usually not caused by a physical disease.

Can you call the cops if your kid won't go to school?

If your kids are at a public place during school time, they have the right to take them back to school. But this is the only case if they are in a public place. If your child is at home itself and is not going to school, then you can call the police if you want.

What can I do if my 16 year old refuses to come home?

How do I motivate my 13 year old to go to school?

To motivate a child to do well in school, use positive reinforcement such as hugs and high fives, reward their effort rather than specific outcomes, and help them make the connection between current effort and achieving long-term goals such as getting into college.