Our January blog comes to you from our friends and colleagues at Variations Psychology. Variations Psychology offers comprehensive testing and assessment services for children and adolescents. We believe this article will be helpful to our families whose children struggle with anxiety and refuse to go to school. If your child or teen refuses to go to school, we recommend our January Book of the Month, “The Anxious Generation,” as well as psychotherapy services with one of our pediatric specialists.
Every student has bad days that justify missing class. From bouts of illness to needing a mental health break, it’s normal for kids to take extra days off now and again. But if your kid is missing school excessively or refusing to attend altogether, it’s possible that a mental health disorder may be at play. “School refusal” describes the behavior of a student who regularly avoids going to school, commonly due to intense anxiety around being on campus. It’s critical for students who regularly avoid school to receive help, as school refusal can have a profound negative impact on their academic future.
Does your kid regularly try to get out of school? If so, here are 7 questions to consider.
1. What causes school refusal?
It’s important to note that “school refusal” is not recognized as a disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Rather, school refusal is a potential symptom of other conditions, including major depression social anxiety disorder, and adjustment disorder. School anxiety can also be brought on by distressing situations at school, such as bullying or test anxiety. Additionally, periods of transition can cause a student to develop school refusal behaviors. A family move, transitioning to middle or high school, or experiencing a trauma can onset school refusal. The loss of one parent, for example, can make a kid highly resistant to being separated from their other parent.
2. Is school refusal the same thing as truancy?
Like school refusal, truancy is characterized by avoiding school. However, there are differences in the behavior and motives of truant students versus school-refusing students. Students who are truant typically keep their school avoidance a secret from their parents; they often leave the house with their parent thinking they are headed to school, only to head elsewhere. Students who exhibit school refusal typically make no effort to hide the fact that they want to stay home. Rather, they will often try to bargain with their parents to get out of school each day. Truancy is typically associated with delinquency and conduct disorders such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder, whereas school refusal is more commonly a symptom of anxiety disorders, mood disorders, trauma, or bullying.
3. What are common signs of school refusal?
Students exhibiting school refusal will regularly show extreme distress or temper tantrums about attending school. Because school refusal often stems from intense fears surrounding academic and social pressures, many of its symptoms mirror other forms of anxiety, such as:
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Panic attacks
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Shortness of breath
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Nausea, vomiting, and other gastrointestinal issues
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Trembling or shakiness
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Sweating
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Feeling weak or tired
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Headaches
School-refusing students may only experience these uncomfortable symptoms at school, and symptoms may largely subside when they are at home or in other “non-threatening” settings.
School refusal can have various causes, or even be a sign of different disorders. Schedule your consultation to learn how we can help.
4. How common is school refusal?
It is estimated that between 2%-5% of all students are affected. Of those students, it most commonly affects those between the ages of 5-7, 11, and 14. This correlates with the ages at which students enter elementary school, middle school, and high school.
5. What are the consequences of school refusal?
Excessive absences can have a long-lasting negative impact on students at any age. Academically, a student is likely to fall behind their expected grade-level proficiencies and perform poorly on high-stakes tests. In younger students, this can lead to being held back a grade. For older students, this can jeopardize their college and career prospects.
Socially, peer relationships can suffer as a student avoids school, straining existing friendships and making it harder to form new ones. School refusal can also take a toll on the parent-child relationship, as daily arguments over attendance can be exasperating. Few friendships, family conflicts, and the risk of academic underachievement can also increase a student’s risk of developing depression.
6. What does support look like?
Because school refusal is not recognized as a disability, it cannot qualify a student for a 504 plan or Individualized Education Program (IEP). However, school refusal is often a symptom of other disorders, some of which can qualify students for a 504 plan or IEP. Anxiety disorders, for example, can qualify a student for special education under the “Other Health Impairment” category of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). Diagnostic testing is the first step in securing support for children who refuse to go to school.
*Important: A diagnosis alone is not enough to qualify a student for special education. A qualified evaluator must also identify how the condition adversely affects the student’s learning or otherwise creates an academic impairment.
7. How do you find the help you need?
Variations Psychology specializes in educational psychology and diagnostic testing to help students reach their academic potential. If your student experiences school refusal, our doctors can identify the root causes of their symptoms, determine whether they have a diagnosis, and guide you in securing the support they need to overcome anxiety and thrive in school.
So you know you need help, but aren’t sure how
to find the right help?
If a loved one has a learning difference or other condition that impacts their mental health and education, you may feel lost in determining the best ways to support them.
Our Diagnosticians can provide psychological testing to remove the
guess-work and guide your family on the best path toward mental health, emotional wellness, and academic success.