What is the difference between school refusal and school avoidance?

School refusal is a term used to describe the signs of anxiety a school-aged child has and his or her refusal to go to school. It is also called school avoidance or school phobia. It can be seen in different types of situations, including: Young children going to school for the first time.

What is another name for school refusal?

A child with scolionophobia often misses many days of school for vague or unknown reasons. School phobia or school refusal is often associated with other anxiety disorders. Another name for school phobia is didaskaleinophobia.

What is the term for avoiding school?

Truancy is usually explicitly defined in the school's handbook of policies and procedures. Attending school but not going to class is called internal truancy. Some children whose parents claim to homeschool have also been found truant in the United States.

What are the criteria for school refusal?

Criteria for Differential Diagnosis of School Refusal and Truancy. Severe emotional distress about attending school; may include anxiety, temper tantrums, depression, or somatic symptoms.

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.

SCHOOL AVOIDANCE ('REFUSAL') | What is (and isn’t) emotionally based school avoidance?

Is school refusal a mental illness?

School refusal is considered a symptom and may be associated with diagnoses such as social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, specific phobias, major depression, oppositional defiant disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and adjustment disorder, among others.

Does ADHD cause school avoidance?

Confirming the Validity of the School-Refusal Assessment Scale—Revised in a Sample of Children With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Children with developmental disorders, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), are at high risk of school-refusal behavior (SRB) compared with their peers.

What are the three types of school refusal?

The terms fear‐based school phobia, anxiety‐based school refusal, and delinquent‐based truancy were commonly described as school refusal behavior.

How bad can school refusal get?

During adolescence, school refusal can present as shutting down, panic symptoms, and even thoughts of self-harm. In both cases, it can interfere with family communication, trigger heated emotions between parents and children, and make it difficult for both children and parents to engage in their normal daily routines.

What is the most common age for school refusal?

Not wanting to go to school may occur at any time but is most common in children ages 5-7 and 11-14, times when children are dealing with the new challenges of elementary and middle school. These children may suffer from a paralyzing fear of leaving the safety of their parents and home.

What causes school avoidance?

Some children have severe separation anxiety and can't tolerate being apart from their parents. Other anxiety-related problems that motivate children and teens to avoid going to school include social anxiety, phobias (such as of illness or germs) and obsessive-compulsive disorder, along with depression.

How do you treat school avoidance?

School refusal usually goes along with disorders like separation anxiety, depression or panic disorder. An evaluation from a professional can tell you if your child needs treatment. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and exposure therapy are used to treat school refusal.

How do you handle school avoidance?

Talk with your child about the reasons why he or she does not want to go to school. Consider all the possibilities and state them. Be sympathetic, supportive, and understanding of why he or she is upset. Try to resolve any stressful situations the two of you identify as causing his worries or symptoms.

How do you break a school refusal?

Use clear, calm statements to let your child know that you expect them to go to school. Say 'when' rather than 'if'. For example, you can say, 'When you're at school tomorrow ...' instead of 'If you make it to school tomorrow ...'.

What is emotionally based school avoidance?

Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) is a broad umbrella term used to describe a group of children and young people who have severe difficulty in attending school due to emotional factors, often resulting in prolonged absences from school. The impact of EBSA on young people and schools is far reaching.

What is a refusal student?

1. : the act of refusing or denying. 2. : the opportunity or right of refusing or taking before others.

What medication is used for school avoidance?

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

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.

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.

Should I punish my child for school refusal?

“Some kids simply refuse to go to school, or fight going to school so hard that each morning becomes a miserable battle. 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.

How do you discipline a child with PDA?

Keep calm and carry on – try not to take things personally; model desired behaviours; pick your battles; treat every day as a fresh start. Focus on the long term objective of building a child's ability to cope rather than short term compliance. Be flexible – helpful approaches require creativity and adaptability.

Can kids with PDA go to school?

At school, these kids often resist doing classwork even though it's not hard for them. This makes it hard to teachers to know what they can do. At home they may refuse to do routine things like taking a shower or getting dressed, so parents end up doing a lot of things for them that they could be doing themselves.

What if a school thinks my child has ADHD?

If a school SENCO thinks that a child may have ADHD, they should raise the possibility of assessment with the parents, an educational psychologist or a school doctor.

How does a child with ADHD behave in school?

How Can ADHD Affect Kids at School? ADHD can affect a student's ability to focus, pay attention, listen, or put effort into schoolwork. ADHD also can make a student fidgety, restless, talk too much, or disrupt the class. Kids with ADHD might also have learning disabilities that cause them to have problems in school.

Why do kids with ADHD not want to go to school?

For example, if your child is being bullied by peers for their differences, this could manifest itself as refusing to go to school. On the other hand, when your ADHD child is struggling academically and not feeling success in the classroom, he may decide in his mind that he is done with school.