49. School Refusal and Strategies to Overcome

Many children with autism find the demands of school and the
school environment almost unbearable which leads to “school
avoidance or refusal”. This is when a child gets very upset about
going to school and won’t or can’t go. This isn’t a clinical
diagnosis; it is simply a name for an emotional and/or behavioral
problem.


As our child’s parent, we have a legal obligation to educate our
children, which means they must be enrolled in an educational
setting and attending regularly. We all know that in 2021 we have
many options to educate our children from homeschooling to
private school, online school, or public school. Whichever you
choose is completely your decision, but you are obligated to
ensure they are getting an education.


Working as a team with your child’s school is the best way to
help with school refusal.


Some of the common reasons for increased stress and anxiety at
school might be, transition times when it is noisy and the halls
are crowded and loud, unstructured times of the day like lunch,
conflict with peers, teasing, or bullying.  Often because of
their social deficits, they struggle with the social aspect of
school the most. They have difficulties understanding and reading
social cues like facial expressions or body language, or they
don’t get sarcasm.


There may be strategies and accommodations that could be
implemented at school.  They may need to have accommodations
added to their IEP like extra breaks or being allowed to
transition ahead of the other students to avoid the crowds
between classes. Remember, ASK for what you think they might
need.


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