First published 2018 by:
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Copyright © 2018 Joanne Garfi
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Overcoming School Refusal: A practical guide for teachers, counsellors, caseworkers and parents
| ISBN | 9781925644043 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 9781925644050 (ebook) |
Publisher: Stephen May
Copy editing: Rhonda McPherson
Cover design: Luke Harris, Working Type Studio
Typesetting: Australian Academic Press
Printing: Lightning Source
Contents
Chapter 1 What is school refusal?
Chapter 2 Why do children refuse to go to school?
Chapter 3 The impacts of school refusal
Chapter 4 What professionals can do
Chapter 6 Treatment for school refusal
Chapter 7 Treating high achievers who are school refusing
Chapter 8 Treating students with autism spectrum disorder who are school refusing
The idea for this book came as something of an epiphany during a road trip with a friend in 2017 and has only become a reality with the help and support of some very special people. Firstly, I would like to thank my daughters and husband who never once doubted I could do this even though I had many, many doubts and fears. Special thanks also go to my publisher and co-conspirator Stephen May who could see the potential in this book and said so from day one. Stephen, you will never know how much that first conversation we had meant to me. Thank you for believing in me and guiding me through to this point. You have been amazing. I’d also like to thank my dear friend and mentor Dr Angela Ramagnano who offered support and encouragement when I felt like I was fraying at the edges. You have been an earth angel since the day I met you. Finally, but certainly not least, I would like to thank the families and students who have enriched my knowledge by allowing me to work with them. All the theories, differential diagnoses and treatment modalities mean nothing if you do not have the right people to work with and learn from. This book is for you and all the ‘you’ that I will meet in the future. Together we can do this!
Joanne Garfi is a psychologist with over 30 years of experience and expertise in child and adolescent issues. She has 9 years’ experience as a school psychologist, working in both primary and secondary schools providing specialised training to teachers. She has a special interest in the treatment of anxiety and panic disorder and is well known for her work with childhood anxiety, behavioural disorders and developmental issues. She currently conducts workshops on school refusal around Australia. Joanne uses a variety of treatment modalities and prefers to take a whole person approach to treatment. Her emphasis when working with children is to have families and schools working together to bring about change.
School refusal is a complex issue that is stressful for the child, their family and the school. The more time a child is away from school, the more difficult it is for the child to resume normal school life. If school refusal becomes an ongoing issue it can negatively impact the child’s social and educational development.
Children who develop school refusal display severe emotional and cognitive stress in the face of attending school. While it is a well established behavioural condition, it is not recognised as a disorder in its own right within the main diagnostic tool used by psychologists and psychiatrists to reliably diagnose disorders — the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5).1 There is, however, a consensus in the literature that school refusal is characterised by absences from school that can be over extended periods of time, periodic, general tardiness or repeated missed classes. It is driven by intense feelings of anxiety that can arise from a variety of causes, which we will discuss further in future chapters.
In contrast to the issue of truancy, an anxious child who refuses to attend school does so because they are genuinely distressed. A school refuser will often attempt to get up in the morning, put on their uniform, have breakfast and may even