Part 6 

WHAT SHOULD A PARENT DO

WHEN TRUANCY RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD?

By following these steps and maintaining open communication with healthcare providers and school personnel, parents can effectively support their child's well-being and academic success despite mental health issue leading to school refusal.

This is what parents can do to help their child with school refusal due to an adjustment disorder:

• Keep and Make Appointments:

  Make sure to attend all scheduled...

  IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES NEEDED

Community Involvement

Establishing a community truancy prevention committee, involving school, law enforcement, parents, and the community, can enhance prevention efforts. Activities like clarifying school policies, educating about consequences, and providing positive role models can be effective.

Research Challenges

There's a huge scarcity of research on the effectiveness of truancy prevention programs, particularly...

PART 4

TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS

A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF INEFFECTIVENESS

 The current disciplinary approach to truancy often relies on punitive measures, which research clearly shows to be highly ineffective. A shift towards primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs is recommended. Primary prevention targets all students to reduce truant behavior incidence. Secondary interventions focus on high-risk students with characteristics predictive of truancy, while tertiary...

PART 3

DEFINING TRUANCY VS SCHOOL AVERSION – SCOLIONOPHOBIA

SYSTEMIC CHAOS

When Schools Pretend To Be Doctors And Doctors Pretend To Be Special Educators

Navigating the intersection of mental health care and special education advocacy is a complex endeavor that requires coordination and collaboration across multiple systems. Parents and education advocates often find themselves in a challenging position where healthcare providers, particularly primary care physicians, may...

 PREVENTING TRUANCY ISN'T WORKING &

COST IS HIGHER THAN YOU THINK

HISTORY OF TRUANCY LAWS

The establishment of compulsory attendance laws in the 1800s marked a pivotal moment in educational history, reflecting society's shift towards valuing education and child welfare. These laws were designed with multifaceted objectives, aiming to keep children out of the workforce, promote widespread access to education, and foster socialization among young individuals. Over...

BREAKING THE CYCLE OF TRUANCY

Truancy is more than a disciplinary issue; it's often a symptom of deeper challenges, especially for students with mental health disabilities like adjustment disorder with school phobia. Criminalizing absenteeism without understanding its root causes perpetuates injustice and harm. There is a transformative potential in addressing truancy through the lens of social justice, mental health, and disability advocacy by focusing on how the Individuals with...

Discover the Hidden Depths of Truancy vs School Refusal: A Crucial Insight Series

When you think of truancy, what comes to mind? Perhaps images of rebellious behavior, a child who is using drugs, or juvenile delinquency surface. How about a student with overall disdain for authority and the sarcasm to prove it?

What if I told you that for a significant number of students in the Truancy system, there's a deeper layer, a tangled web of unaddressed mental health issues intertwined with...

 Alternative Facts, Intentional Ignorance, or Misrepresentation

As a Board-Certified Education Advocate, I often work with parents who are understandably frustrated after attending numerous meetings with their child's school that seem to go nowhere. All parents want for their child is to receive the appropriate supports and services to succeed, yet far too often schools provide misleading or false information to avoid responsibility.

A recent case that came across my desk is a perfect...

Key Advocacy Techniques for AAC/SGD Implementation

Welcome back to our blog series on Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and Speech Generating Devices (SGDs). As advocates we are always filling in the blanks looking for the needs missed, incompetence presumed, challenges not considered etc., etc. In this day and age you would think that the provision and implementation of AAC/SGD devices would have little resistance, especially since the positives so outweighs the...

SLPs Drive the Success of ACC & SGD Implementation

Welcome to the final part of our blog series on Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) and Speech Generating Devices (SGDs). In our last post, we delved into the key responsibilities of speech and language pathologists (SLPs). Now, let's continue to explore their crucial role in AAC/SGD implementation.

More Responsibilities of an SLP

1. Providing the Appropriate AAC/SGD System: SLPs provide the appropriate AAC/SGD system and...