School Refusal

SCHOOL REFUSAL Most people can recall the scene in the movie “Farris Bueller’s Day Off” where he concocts and entire story and set up just so that he can stay home from school that day. His mother buys the fake fever induced by a hot blow dryer and the automated puking sounds coming from the bathroom, however there are parents who deal with these hysterics almost everyday. A case study that I found in an article by Nicole Setzer, Ph.d., and Amanda Salzhauer, MSW at the University of Child Study Center summarizes a young girl named Rebecca’s school refusal case. Rebecca is eight years old and has always had some issues about going to school. She is now in third grade and after only two months of school so far this year her problems have significantly worsened. Almost everyday she will try some sort of tactic to stay home from school whether it be throwing a fit so that she is late for the bus, or after arriving at school constantly complaining about a stomach ache or a head ache. The study goes on to say that her mother picks her up from school about twice a week, Rebecca is taken home where she usually spends the rest of the day watching TV or playing with her toys. (Kearney and Silverman 1993) This is not considered truancy from school but however the growing trend of developing school refusal behavior. As much of 28% of school aged children in America refuse school at some point during their education. (Kearny and Silverman 1993) There were several things that I thought I should consider when I reviewed this research like: sex, socioeconomic status, age and family life. In the present paper , the terms school refusal, school avoidance, or school phobia will be used to describe the signs or anxiety a school-aged child has and his/her refusal to go to school. I will discuss some facts about school refusal, how to spot some of the signs and symptoms, diagnosing the problem as school refusal and ruling out other things like depression, how to manage

Cited: Fremont, W.P. (2003, October, 15). School Refusal in Children and Adolescents. American Academy of Family Physicians, Retrieved June 15, 2008, from http://ww.aafp.org/afp/AFPprinter/20031015/1555.html Kearney, C.A & Silverman, W.K. (1993). Measuring the function of school refusal behavior: The School Refusal Assessment Scale. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 22. (2007, August). Growth and Development Conditions and Diagnoses. Retrieved July 2, 2008, from www.cincinnatichildrens.org Web site: http://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/health/info/growth/diagnose/schoolphobia National Association of School Psychologists. (1996). School Refusal/Aviodance Phobia [Brochure]. Silver Spring, MD: Leslie M. Paige. Setzer, N, & Salzhauer, A (2000). Understanding School Refusal. NYU Child Study Center. 85-88. ----CASE STUDY