Helping school refusing children and their parents : a guide for school-based professionals PDF
Preview Helping school refusing children and their parents : a guide for school-based professionals
Helping School Refusing Children and Their Parents This page intentionally left blank Helping School Refusing Children and Their Parents A Guide for School-Based Professionals Christopher A. Kearney 2008 Oxford University Press, Inc., publishes works that further Oxford University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education. Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offi ces in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Copyright © 2008 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Published by Oxford University Press, Inc. 198 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10016 www.oup.com Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press All rights reserved. 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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available ISBN: 978-0-19-532024-4 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Printed in the United States of America on acid-free paper Contents 1 School Refusal Behavior: Defi nition and Description 1 2 Assessing Cases of School Refusal Behavior 26 3 Interventions for Negatively Reinforced School Refusal Behavior 52 4 Interventions for Positively Reinforced School Refusal Behavior 79 5 Diffi cult Parents and Other Special Topics 104 6 Preventive and Systemic Strategies for School Refusal Behavior 127 7 Contextual Variables and School Refusal Behavior 150 Appendix 1: Assessment Measures 167 Appendix 2: Readings and Additional Resources 179 v This page intentionally left blank 1 School Refusal Behavior: Defi nition and Description Reggie missed the last week of school and cannot seem to get out of bed in the morning. He often cries about having to go to school and seems quite unhappy when there. Reggie mopes around on school nights, especially Sunday nights, and always seems to have stomach- aches or headaches before school. Madison attends school only following a battle with her parents in the morning. She says she does not like school and the people there. Madison complains of having to perform before others at school, such as in gym class, and has skipped several classes this semester that involved a test or presentation. Brett clings to his mother in the morning before school and refuses to enter the school building. He has run away from school twice in an attempt to get home. On days he is at school, he constantly asks to call his parents. Brett asks the same questions over and over and has pleaded for home schooling. Gisela has been missing most of school this year. She often skips out after lunch or does not attend school at all. She is not particularly anxious about school but says school is boring and that she would rather be with her friends. Gisela has been fi ghting a lot with her par- ents about this issue and is in danger of failing her grade. Do these cases sound familiar to you? As a school professional, you have likely encountered numerous children or adolescents with trouble attending school or diffi culties remaining in classes for an entire day. Youths who miss substantial amounts of school pose one 1 2 HELPING SCHOOL REFUSING CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS of the most vexing problems for school offi cials, many of whom are under substantial pressure from administrators, parents, and others to reduce absenteeism. As a clinical child psychologist who has worked with this population for many years as well as with educational profes- sionals at various schools, I know the frustration you feel when trying to get a child back to school. In this book, I hope to share my expertise to help you address this diffi cult population. This chapter outlines the purpose of the book, describes the char- acteristics of youths with school refusal behavior, and provides a model for understanding school refusal behavior and for guiding assessment and intervention. Purpose of this Book The purpose of this book is to illuminate the characteristics of youths who refuse to attend school and focus on methods you can use to assess this population and help kids return to school. This book is written primarily for school offi cials who often address youths with problematic absenteeism. This includes guidance counselors, regular and specialized and special education teachers, principals and deans, school psychologists, school-based social workers, school nurses, school attendance offi cers, and other relevant personnel. The book may be useful as well when you discuss a child’s attendance problem with parents or with professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, and others. This book is part of a short series of books devoted to helping people resolve school refusal behavior. “Step one” in this series is a self-directed book for parents of youths with acute or mild atten- dance problems (G etting Your Child to Say “Yes” to School: A Guide for Parents of Youth with School Refusal Behavior; Oxford University Press, 2007). “Step three” in this series is a set of treatment manuals for psychologists and other clinicians who address severe attendance problems ( When Children Refuse School: A Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Approach (2nd ed.) (T herapist Guide and P arent Workbook ); Oxford University Press, 2007). This particular book is “step two” in the series and is designed to help school-based professionals address cases of problematic but moderate absenteeism. I do urge you to read the “step one” self- directed book, especially if you recommend that School Refusal Behavior: Definition and Description 3 book to parents. The self-directed book is a nice adjunct when you collaborate with parents to resolve a child’s school refusal behavior. What Kinds of Cases Does This Book Cover? This book is best for moderate cases of absenteeism. This means the procedures discussed here may be less necessary for brand-new cases of absenteeism or those that are manageable using simple oversight or in- creased parental monitoring and guidance. Similarly, the procedures in this book may be less useful for unremitting cases of absenteeism that have lasted many years or involve intense additional problems such as severe learning disorder, depression or bipolar disorder, attention-defi cit/ hyperactivity disorder, conduct and aggressive problems, substance abuse, developmental disorder, or psychotic disorder. In these cases, referral to psychological and psychiatric services may be necessary (see box). This book is also helpful if no legitimate reason exists for a child’s absenteeism. If a child’s attendance problem results from bullying or other real threat to self or property, then the threat must be addressed before using the procedures in this book. Some children continue to refuse school a fter removal of a threat, however, so the procedures in this book may then apply. The focus is on a child’s school attendance so it is not meant to be used for children who attend school but who experience problems such as classroom disruption, refusal to complete homework, or failure to make friends or participate in class. The fol- lowing section defi nes problematic absenteeism and some terms used to describe this population. Later sections discuss characteristics of these youths and present a model that serves as the basis for assessment and intervention recommendations in subsequent chapters. Problematic Absenteeism and Related Terms You might be confused by the many terms used to refer to problematic absenteeism. The literature regarding youths with problematic absentee- ism is diverse and scattered across disciplines such as education, psychol- ogy, social work, criminal justice, and medicine. As such, many different terms for problematic absenteeism have been used. Following is a brief description of terms used in the fi eld as well as the more comprehensive term ofschool refusal behavior used in this book (see also Table 1.1).
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