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What we know about school refusal
Eight pages on what the pattern is, what changes it, and what to ask for. Every claim has a source at the bottom of the page it appears on.
What school refusal actually isSchool refusal is a description of a pattern, not a diagnosis. It means a child is not attending, is distressed about attending, and the parents know about it.How to build an exposure ladderA ladder is a list of things your child is avoiding, ordered from easiest to hardest, with a number on each one.Why the 0 to 10 rating matters more than the listMost parents can list what their child is avoiding. Far fewer can say which part of it is hardest, and that is the part that decides where to start.When school refusal is actually OCDA child who will not use the school bathroom, will not touch a shared surface, and changes clothes at the front door is not usually afraid of school.Separation anxiety or school refusalThe test is simple. Ask what a full day somewhere else, without you, would rate.School accommodations that backfireEvery accommodation is a trade. It buys a calmer day now and it usually costs something later. The ones worth having are the ones where you know what the cost is.What to ask the schoolMost meetings about attendance spend their first half establishing something everyone in the room already knew.What to do on a refusal morningBy the time a child is on the floor by the front door, the useful decisions have already been made or missed.