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School refusal as GCSE pressure mounts

chrisp

Hi. Our 15 year old son is currently awaiting an autism diagnosis. As he's gone further through school, his burnout has gradually got worse, with him spending most of his time in his room on a screen and doing the bare minimum of homework. Now school has shifted into "revision mode" and the pressure of upcoming GCSEs is everywhere. He is now unable to go to school most days. He will try but then freeze at the entrance and be unable to move forward or to communicate much. Most days, he can't make it into even one lesson. He wants to do well but isn't able to make himself do schoolwork at home - he just can't think about school without shutting down. I have no idea how he is going to manage to sit any exams, even though he now has a lot of accommodations approved by school (e.g. extra time, small venue). Anybody had similar experience or got any advice? Thanks.

Parents

  • Have you spoken with the schools SENCO to ask for advice?

    This should be a core part of their knowledge base and they can hopefully get a therapist to help him with some of these issues or at least recommend one for the referral.

    A key part of helping your son seems to be around helping him manage his anxiety and this is a complex issue compunded by trauma (not necessarily one big bad event but can be many small bad ones) and unpacking this to process them and finding a way to manage anxiety are the sort of skills a child psychologist should have.

    I would suggest findin what the school can provide and make sure they are fully aware of the situation so they can try to give him all the support needed.

    If you need to go private then you can at least hopefully find some local recommendations of therapists with skills dealing with autistic children.

Reply

  • Have you spoken with the schools SENCO to ask for advice?

    This should be a core part of their knowledge base and they can hopefully get a therapist to help him with some of these issues or at least recommend one for the referral.

    A key part of helping your son seems to be around helping him manage his anxiety and this is a complex issue compunded by trauma (not necessarily one big bad event but can be many small bad ones) and unpacking this to process them and finding a way to manage anxiety are the sort of skills a child psychologist should have.

    I would suggest findin what the school can provide and make sure they are fully aware of the situation so they can try to give him all the support needed.

    If you need to go private then you can at least hopefully find some local recommendations of therapists with skills dealing with autistic children.

Children
  • in reply to Iain

    We have been in touch with SENCO, but haven't specifically asked for advice, and none was offered. I never considered that they might know relevant therapists. They've never given any sense that they have advice to offer, we've just talked about exam accommodations, but I will try asking. Thanks.