What is School Refusal?

What does School Refusal look like?

For a CHILD

School Refusal can look like:

  • Showing signs of distress, anxiety or depression about going to school.

  • Teariness the night before school or complaining about illness.

  • Having meltdowns or displaying aggressive behaviour.

  • Shutdown - no capacity for anything.

  • Refusing to get out of bed or to leave the house.

  • Significant increase in the use of screens.

  • Avoiding challenging days at school, such as tests, exams, camps or sport events.

  • Having trouble returning to school after significant breaks.

  • Being suspended from school.

For PARENTS

School Refusal can look like:

  • Frustration, distress & being overwhelmed.

  • Emotional and physical exhaustion.

  • Impacting ability to attend workplace, creating financial stress.

  • Disagreements between parents about how to deal with the situation.

  • Breakdown in relationships; with child, partner, school, extended family or friends.

  • Concern for your child or young person’s education & future.

  • Not knowing what to do next for their child.

  • Feeling totally alone on this journey.

  • Difficulty often finding supports or people who understand.

There are many names describing School Refusal, such as School Avoidance, Anxiety based School Refusal, School Can’t & Emotionally based School Avoidance (EBSA).

In my experience, School Can’t is the most accurate term, as it is not a deliberate choice by the child or young person.

Young people often say to me

“I want to go, I don’t know why I can’t”.

Support for families experiencing School Can’t?

School Can’t impacts the whole family’s well-being, your relationships and the ability to see a positive future. Experiencing school can’t can feel overwheming, isolating and emotionally exhausting.

I have created a Course, that takes you through a framework to support your child experiencing school can’t. I provide evidence based strategies to assist you and your family to see your journey from a new perspective which enables you to look beyond the must’s & should’s. To focus on now and increasing your belief that everything will work out OK.

Parents I work with ask themselves":

  • Will my child ever return to school?

  • We have tried so many things, when do we stop trying?

  • What will their future be like?

  • How will they ever live in the outside world?

Working with family’s, I have seen that every journey is different relating to School Can’t. There are however, similar themes that arise. The course I have created address these themes; what about my child’s future, buildings networks who understand, co-regulating, the outside world, finding ways that do work for my child, working with school, working together to parent & self-care.

A framework to help family’s experiencing School Refusal / School Can’t.

You’re in the right place.