- Validate their experience.
- Try to keep calm.
- Speak to your child's teacher.
- Work with their teacher(s) to identify triggers.
- Keep in contact with their teachers.
- Keep track of days your child doesn't want to go to school.
- Be consistent.
- Praise your child for small steps they've taken.
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.11 Jun 2021
What are the causes of school refusal?
- Teen anxiety.
- Bullying.
- Conflict with friends or lack of supportive friendships.
- Family problems at home.
- Academic issues or difficult relationships with teachers.
- Sexual harassment by another student.
- Acute stress disorder or PTSD as a result of an incident in school.
What is school avoidance disorder?
Page Content. School avoidance sometimes called school refusal or school phobia is not uncommon and occurs in as many as 5% of children. These children may outright refuse to attend school or create reasons why they should not go.5 Sept 2017
What do you do when a student refuses to go to class?
- Ask for help.
- Consider possible triggers.
- Take a kind but firm approach.
- Give clear and consistent messages.
- Set clear routines on days off school.
- Engage the system.
How do you approach a school refusal?
- Show your child that you understand.
- Use clear, calm statements that let your child know you expect them to go to school.
- Show that you believe your child can go to school by saying positive and encouraging things.