14 yrs. Grade 9

Our daughter’s IQ is 145 with a processing speed of 96 and a working memory of 100. Because her PS and WM are average, she does not qualify for an LD, according to DSM-V. She would have qualified with DSM-IV. The psychologist told us that she is at a high risk of mental health concerns with this profile but can’t diagnose her with anything. She is a perfectionist and most likely has ADHD. I have ADHD, and so does her brother. Her perfectionism won’t allow her to show her anxiety in public, and her high IQ helps her mask her…

15 yrs. Grade 10

In the second semester of ninth grade, my daughter completely shut down. She is highly intelligent (was advanced a few years in elementary), and I don’t understand why she suddenly stopped getting high marks. She didn’t complete any assignments, and then finally for the month of June, she did not go to school once, not even for final examinations.

10 yrs. Grade 5

My child missed half a school year in kindergarten. Five days a week for 6 hours for a 5-year-old is too much. From kindergarten to grade 3, every morning was a fight…always too tired. Coming home with timed math test with results 2 out of 20 correct was devastating for my daughter’s confidence. Why in god’s name are 8-year-olds undergoing timed math tests that stress them out so much they refuse to go to school?

13 yrs. Grade 8

We have two children with anxiety and school refusal. We have gone from a family who had it all together to barely being able to keep our heads above water. We have lost friends, money, and opportunities. We have not been able to support our parents as they age. Almost every day is a struggle to stay positive.

16 yrs. Grade 10

My son has always struggled with anxiety, but after witnessing his younger sister get injured by their father – she died a horrific death – he has complex PTSD on top of the anxiety. Neither our legal system nor our school system recognizes his poor attendance as school refusal or as a result of his struggling with his mental health. He’s been labelled a bad kid, lazy, unmotivated, and difficult.

16 yrs. Grade 10

Our daughter always did well in school until grade 8. She was in French Immersion, loved projects, and did well in most subjects. She hardly ever missed a day of school. One year, she got an award for perfect attendance. We noticed that she excelled in certain things like projects, often going over and above what was asked. In grade 8, things changed. Workload increased, more teachers making more demands. Suddenly, she couldn’t make all the assignments perfect the way she wanted. It was harder to get her to school. Grade 9 was more challenging and, although she made it…

13 yrs. Grade 9

While it’s only the third day in the new school year, my 13-year-old daughter has only been to school for about one full day altogether, due to extreme anxiety and school refusal. This has been ongoing since the beginning of grade 7 (she’s now beginning grade 9). Although her elementary school has been wonderful in trying to accommodate her and her needs, it wasn’t enough.

13 yrs. Grade 8

We submitted our human rights complaint at the end of grade 5, after 3 months of school refusal that was met with shock from school and division admin because they didn’t understand why she didn’t want to be at school. We had over 300 pages of emails (and that doesn’t include phone calls and meetings) from issues going back to grade 1, detailing incidents and asking for planning. If they’d put in even a minimal plan for her, then we wouldn’t be here. The division even sent a social worker to our house, who spent 3 hours trying to determine…

17 yrs. Grade 12

My son started having anxiety in grade 5, and as he got older it worsened. By grade 9, I was fighting with him to go to school; in grade 10, he just stopped going. I had meetings with the school. They offered a quiet room to do work and an in-home tutor. He should be in grade 12 this year, but because they only had one way to deal with this, he is now waiting to turn 18 to be allowed to get an education. We have been to the hospital because of his suicidal thoughts, only to be given…