School Refusal Ten Year Old

[woowoo]

I understand that this service is really for parents of teenagers, but I'm finding difficulty finding a support forum for parents of that in-between/primary school age. I do understand if you're unable to help.

My son is 10. He has anxiety and we've (my husband and I) have had difficulty getting him to go to school since Prep - he's now in grade four. He saw a counsellor in grade two, and he's seeing both a play therapist and a psychologist now. He's also started medication for anxiety. Things seem to be getting worse though, not better.

He genuinely wants to go to school, but his extreme anxiety is stopping him. As of the start of this term only his dad has been able to get him there, I'm completely unable to even get him out of the house. I'm not a particularly big person and I just physically can't move him without risk of hurt us both.

The school has been supportive, but also very inconsistent in their help. I've said multiple times that we need a clear plan of attack, but apart from making suggestions they don't really follow through. They don't want to give him work to do at home, because they don't want him to get comfortable with that, but I'm worried that falling behind will just compound his anxiety about going.

I feel lost. And trapped. I don't know what else to try.

Again, I understand he's a bit young for this forum, but if you could point me in the right direction I'd be very grateful.

[Iona_RO]

Hey @woowoo 

School refusal is such a difficult thing to deal with as parents, regardless of how old our children are, so I'm glad you still reached out for some support. 

It's fantastic to hear that you've already been able to get some support in place with the play therapist and psychologist. It's really clear how much you care about your son & you've done all the right things to support him through this, well done. It's unfortunate that the school hasn't been as helpful as you'd hope, but we have this article that might be able to give you some more suggestions on things to try.

Does the school have a counsellor at all? Do you think you'd have more luck with a concrete plan if you could work with them?

[woowoo]

Thanks so much for getting back to me, Iona. I really appreciate it. I have checked out the article you linked to. I was wondering, is it suitable for me to sign up to the one-on-one program?

Thanks again.

[Taylor-RO]

Hi @woowoo,

Thanks for responding. We are glad that you have been able to check out the article that we linked. You can sign up to our one-on-one program and they will be able to assess your eligiblity with the information that you provide. Please let us know how you go if you decide to try it out