How can I address refusal with my child's school?

When addressing school refusal, it’s essential to work closely with the school to determine and improve the environment that might be contributing to the child’s discomfort. You can start by asking the school to help identify the root cause of a child’s aversion, if you’re not sure what it is. Sometimes, children feel overwhelmed due to factors like bullying, unmet needs, or a general feeling of being unsupported. Your child may not have shared these concerns with you, but the teacher or another staff member may have noticed them. It’s important that the school acknowledges these potential issues and works with you to investigate these factors thoroughly. You may need to speak with teachers, counselors, and other staff members to gather insights into your child’s experience.

A Functional Behavioral Assessment (FBA) and a Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) can help too. The FBA is a way to understand what’s going on behaviorally with your child. It helps identify what might be triggering the refusal and what’s keeping it going. Depending on the results of the FBA, a BIP can be a great way to put a strategy in place to deal with challenging behaviors. When thinking about adding services to an IEP goal to address school refusal, it’s about starting with what the child needs, such as counseling services and behavior support services.

For more information, see School Refusal 101.