Can attendance officers, truant officers and court personnel put pressure on our child to return to school?
A child in this situation doesn’t usually need additional pressure. But letting a child know that refusing school is against the law, in some cases, will motivate him to accept help. Court systems in many areas are increasingly aware of the underlying mental health problems of school refusers. And they can be an advocate to parents in getting children the help they need. Couldn’t we just put our child on homebound instruction? Wouldn’t that help? Keeping your child at home on homebound instruction will not resolve school refusal for several reasons: One, the extra attention of a teacher coming to your home to work with your child may make staying at home even more attractive. Two, it may ‘mask’ the anxiety that he is experiencing, but it doesn’t get rid of what triggers it. Three, it socially isolates him when it’s likely that he is in need of friends and peers. And four, when it comes time to return to school, it will be just that much harder. I am worried about my son getting involve
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