There’s been a gap on this page for quite some time – a gap in what ‘Taylor Behavioural’ is currently working towards. That’s because I’ve been busy trying to contribute to another gap, one that’s much bigger and one that will take a whole lot more than just me to fill.
For over seven years, I’ve worked on trying to understand and find ways to address the fragmentation that currently exists in the literature on how best to support students with school refusal, in particular, autistic students. My interest in this area started when I was tasked with supporting a seven year old girl who refused to attend school and, despite the efforts of her mum was missing over 90% of her school week through various combinations of late arrivals, early departures or entire day absences. This was the first time I’d encountered this story but I’ve come to learn that it’s far from unique, and that it will require a national response to resolve.
Last August, the Senate Inquiry into the national trend of school refusal handed down a series of recommendations. Among these recommendations were; the funding of more research into the effectiveness of interventions for school refusal, work by government child health departments to improve early identification of conditions such as autism, ADHD and anxiety, which are all closely related to the increase in school refusal, collaborative work between education departments and school sectors towards earlier identification of students with school refusal (among other school attendance problems such as school withdrawal) and enhanced flexibility in education options, and improvements to supports currently available to families. The recommendations point to several of the factors that are likely to influence school refusal in young people and were viewed by many as a positive sign.
Last month’s response, or lack thereof, by the federal goverment has underwhelmed many in the field of school refusal. Failure to adopt the recommendation to provide a national action plan means the fragmentation is set to continue. Obviously, education is a state responsibility but there is not enough known about the complexities of school refusal to presume that this widespread problem can be addressed without significant collaboration and planning. Nevertheless, the fact is that the gap remains one that is important to address.
Currently, my attempts to understand and address the gap have led me to conduct a program of research with the goal of developing an intervention package that supports teachers in both the early identification of school refusal and the selection of early strategies to support autistic students who may be headed towards more chronic forms of school refusal.
I’m always happy to share information about what I’m up to so if you’re interested, get in touch!
Taylor Behavioural 