Defiance or Fear? School Refusal Treatment for Young Girls

If you have a child that is refusing to go to school, you might think they are simply being defiant. The truth is that your child could be suffering from a very real fear of school, whether they are afraid of underperforming, are afraid of their classmates, the teachers, etc. Children who refuse to go to school are rarely cognizant of how they are affecting not just their current life and their parents and family, but also how they affecting their future. This is why school refusal treatment is very important for a child that is refusing to attend school.

Common Causes of School Refusal

What ultimately is causing your child to need school refusal treatment will be unique to their situation and their life. Some of the most common contributors to school refusal include social anxiety, depression, and separation anxiety. Learning disabilities or other conditions that make subject matter difficult for the child to grasp may also make them unwilling to attend school.

School Refusal Treatment

School refusal treatment usually starts with a few tests to make sure that the child is actually suffering from this condition and not that they are simply going through a rebellious phase. This will usually involve an evaluation of the child’s behavior, their anxiety, and their interactions with other people their age. Once it has been determined that they are in need of school refusal treatment, the treatment begins.

Treatment will be customized for each child, depending on what their exact issues with attending school are and how severe those issues have become. In some instance, exposure therapy can help adjust a child to school and encourage them to get to know and get involved with the students around them, which usually helps to ease any anxiety that may be causing the child to refuse to attend school.

Different types of therapy may also be implemented, depending, again, on the child and their specific needs. Group therapy can be a good way to encourage positive social interactions, in a low stress environment. It can also teach a child how to communicate their needs and their desires in an understandable way, making it easier for parents and teachers to help them with whatever problems they might be facing. Helping to counteract a low self-esteem, anxiety, feelings of isolation, and inadequacy is the main goal of all of these school refusal treatments.