Annotation Kearney, a clinical child psychologist at the U. of Nevada, Las Vegas, has written his book mainly with the school psychologist in mind. The problem of school refusal is put into a context in initial chapters which give an overview of the historical literature on school refusal behavior and describe the characteristics of these youth, while also critiquing the classification strategies employed. After introducing a functional model, Kearney summarizes treatment strategies and discusses methods for prevention as well as the reality of extreme cases. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com).

School refusal behavior is a common and difficult problem facing parents of children and teenagers. The behavior can have severe consequences by contributing to a child's academic, social, and psychological problems. A child's absence from school can also significantly increase family conflict. If your child experiences anxiety or noncompliance about attending school and has trouble remaining in classes for an entire day, this workbook, and the corresponding Therapist Guide, can help. This Parent Workbook is designed to help you work with a qualified therapist to resolve your child's school refusal behavior. The Workbook outlines four possible treatment procedures that may be prescribed by a therapist, depending on your child's reasons for refusing school. Scientific evidence has shown these programs to be highly effective in treating youth 5-17 years old who exhibit school refusal behavior. Regardless of whether your child refuses school to relieve school-related distress, to avoid negative social situations at school, to receive attention from you or another family member, or to obtain tangible rewards outside of school, the flexible treatments described in this book will help you and your child overcome school refusal behavior. The Workbook describes what you can expect during your child's assessment and treatment and provides answers to questions you may have about the process. It also provides instructions for continuing certain aspects of the program at home, including relaxation and breathing techniques, as well as exposure exercises to decrease your childs anxiety. Instructions are also given for completing daily logbooks with your child to track progress, creating a morning routine to keep you both on schedule, and developing written contracts to enhance attendance and discourage nonattendance. With this user-friendly manual, you can take an active role in your childs successful return to school.

Children who miss substantial amounts of school pose one of the most vexing problems for school officials. In many cases, school personnel must assess these students and successfully help them to return to the academic setting. This can be difficult considering most school-based professionals are pressed for time and do not have access to proper resources. The information in this book can help school officials combat absenteeism and reduce overall dropout rates. Designed for guidance counselors, teachers, principals and deans, school psychologists, school-based social workers, and other school professionals, this book outlines various strategies for helping children get back to school with less distress that can easily be implemented in schools. The book describes four clinical interventions that can be used to effectively address moderate cases of absenteeism, as well as instructions for adapting these procedures for use within the school system. A chapter on assessment describes several methods for identifying school refusal behavior, including time-limited techniques for school officials who have little opportunity to conduct detailed evaluations. Worksheets for facilitating assessment are included and can easily be photocopied from the book. Other chapters provide advice for working collaboratively with parents, preventing relapse, and tackling special issues such as children with anxiety, children who take medication, and children who are victims of bullying. Topics such as poverty, homelessness, teenage pregnancy, violence, and school safety are also addressed.

School refusal affects up to 5% of children and is a complex and stressful issue for the child, their family and school. The more time a child is away from school, the more difficult it is for the child to resume normal school life. If school refusal becomes an ongoing issue it can negatively impact the child’s social and educational development. Psychologist Joanne Garfi spends most of her working life assisting parents, teachers, school counsellors, caseworkers, and community policing officers on how best to deal with school refusal. Now her experiences and expertise are available in this easy-to-read practical book. Overcoming School Refusal helps readers understand this complex issue by explaining exactly what school refusal is and provides them with a range of strategies they can use to assist children in returning to school. Areas covered include: • types of school refusers • why children refuse to go to school • symptoms • short term and long term consequences • accurate assessment • treatment options • what parents can do • what schools can do • dealing with anxious high achievers • how to help children on the autism spectrum with school refusal

A great bene?t of being a clinical child psychologist is the opportunity to conduct and review research on fascinating areas of human, youthful behavior. And perhaps no behavior is as central to human existence as social behavior, and the lack thereof. In writing this book, therefore, I have been doubly blessed with the chance to examine seminal works on behaviors that are so critical to the development and quality of life of children. This book covers the major historical aspects, characteristics, asse- ment strategies, and psychological treatment techniques for youths with social anxiety and social phobia. Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the related constructs and history of social phobia. Chapters 2 and 3 provide a summary of the characteristics and etiological variables that pertain most to youths with social anxiety and social phobia. Chapters 4 and 5 provide an overview of research- and clinically-based assessment strategies and recommendations for this population. Chapters 6–9 provide a description of treatment techniques that are most relevant and empirically supported for youths with social anxiety and social phobia. Chapter 10 covers issues regarding general and relapse prevention as well as dif?cult cases and future directions.

"This chapter provides an overview of types of school attendance problems, including full-day absences, partial absences or skipped classes, tardiness, morning behavior problems in an attempt to miss school, and distress during the school day. This chapter also includes a summary of what the book is about as well as a discussion of conditions under which the book will be more helpful or less helpful to parents. This chapter also includes suggestions for seeking outside professional help if the book is deemed less helpful. This chapter also covers prevalence of school attendance problems, common characteristics of this population, adjusting to a new school, medical conditions associated with absenteeism, and how to define success. This chapter also asks parents to collate main contact information for parties needed to help resolve a child's school attendance problems"--

Get a quick, expert overview of complex childhood psychiatric disorders from Drs. David I. Driver and Shari Thomas of Healthy Foundations Group. This practical resource presents a summary of today's current knowledge and best approaches to topics from gender dysphoria to childhood onset schizophrenia and other complex psychiatric disorders. - Comprehensive guide for any professional working with children. - Consolidates today's evidence-based information on complex childhood psychiatric disorders into one convenient resource. - Provides must-know information on evaluation and management. - Covers a range of psychiatric disorders of children including drug-induced mania and psychosis, concussions, ADHD, technology addiction, sleep disorders, and eating disorders.