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Truancy is when a child chooses to miss school and is hiding it from their parents.
Kids with school avoidance are not attending school in plain sight of their parents. Their parents know where they are; in their home. Oftentimes, isolating themselves in their bedroom.
Kids with school avoidance are not attending school in plain sight of their parents. Their parents know where they are; in their home. Oftentimes, isolating themselves in their bedroom.
They want to be in school but their distress is keeping them from being there. Parents are usually committed to helping get their children back to school. (unless they are in denial or have extreme problems of their own).
Treating school avoidance with punitive measures will only exacerbate the problem and reduce your chances of helping this student return to your school.
Almost all parents who have kids with school avoidance will tell you that the truancy letters sent home are like a dagger in the heart.
The message they convey to parents with school avoidant kids is:
If parents acknowledge their child’s school avoidance and are working with you to help get them back to school, then you could stop sending these hurtful reminders.
Disclaimer: This site is designed by School Avoidance Alliance to assist parents, family, friends, caregivers, educators, advocates, and other professionals involved with helping children and finding resources to understand, help and cope with school avoidance, as well as to increase public awareness regarding school avoidance. The contents of this website are presented for informational and educational purposes only. Nothing on this website is to be construed as professional advice on medical, legal, technical, or therapeutic matters. By accessing and using the information on this site, you agree to waive any rights to hold the site developer(s), or any individual and/or group associated with this site, liable for any damage that may result from the use of the information presented.
Unfortunately only a small percentage of school professionals, therapists, educational advocates and policy makers understand school avoidance best practices. So, you must become the expert to ensure your child is getting:
The time passing slowly without progress is the worst feeling. It wouldn’t have taken five years of suffering and uncertainty if I had this expert guidance during my son’s school avoidance. We would have saved $29,000 in lawyer fees and $69,000 for private schools.
