17 yrs. Grade 10

Secondary School

My youngest son was an exemplary student in elementary school. Teachers loved him; he had many friends. He entered grade 8 in an 8-12 school, and he sank fast and hard. Too big a school, too large an age gap to compete with. From a school of 400 to a school of 2,000. It was too much for him. We need to provide elementary, middle, and high school again, or what I had: elementary, junior high, and senior high. The age gap is just too much for some kids. Most will do fine, but the vulnerable will be influenced by…

13 yrs. Grade 8

Elementary School

There is no one face of anxiety or depression. Compassion and understanding are the key. What if this were your child? Show love and compassion to not just the child but also his/her parent(s). They’re doing their best. It needs to be a collaborative approach built on trust and understanding, to make school a safe and welcoming environment for our most stressed students.

7 yrs. Grade 2

Elementary School

My son has hated school since kindergarten (he’s in grade 2 now) and it breaks my heart. I’ve put him onto the bus crying more times than I can count, then I try to go to work and be productive. Would I continue at a job that I hated? No, but I expect my child to do that. It’s so hard. This year, he finally has a teacher who “gets” him, and I’m terrified to lose her next year. It creates so much anxiety in our house. We are seeing a child psychologist this month and hopefully getting an assessment…

17 yrs. Grade 12

Secondary School

My child was always anxious, but after being mauled by a dog in 4th grade, he developed school refusal. I was allowed to accompany him into the school and to let him get comfortable and then leave. This worked, and things were getting better, but other kids started teasing him. A teacher (not his own) began to make fun of him and tell him to “man up”. Then neither of us could handle such an unsupportive environment. We moved him to a smaller school for kids with learning differences for that year and the next grade. He entered middle school…

14 yrs. Grade 9

Secondary School

My son’s kindergarten teacher would call me and tell me he would not sit on the sitting mat and for that he was disciplined. He has never sat still and when he and I study for tests, he is either jumping on the trampoline while I explain things to him and he asks questions, or he has a hockey stick in his hands and is stick-handling while I teach. I know he can’t do that in a classroom, but he cannot focus while sitting at a desk all day long listening to lectures and doing questions out of books. What…

14 yrs. Grade 10

Secondary School

It begins slowly in the beginning. They wake up and groan groggily that: * they didn’t sleep well, tummy ache, headache (*insert any imaginable reason for not going to school). Then it begins to appear to become a “habit” and you explain they have to go to school. “It’s the law!”… (because you think they’re making excuses, because they’re simply tired and don’t want to go). You feel you have to push them to go (which causes more angst). You feel it’s your duty as a parent to get your child to school, even when it hurts them. And they…

17 yrs. Grade 12

Secondary School

My son’s struggles began very early in his education. Preschool days were hard….He would try to run away from class to come home. He just didn’t want to be there from the start. Every day was a struggle. He didn’t learn well from a young age, and I pointed that out to the school team, but they ignored my pleas for extra help till it was too late. My oldest child was diagnosed with dyslexia and my youngest had the same learning difficulties, but the school passed it off as laziness. Then, in second grade, they finally agreed that he…

15 yrs. Grade 10

Secondary School

My daughter started refusing to go to school in grade 2. By grade 8, she was acting out and getting suspended multiple times a year. Many arguments, meetings, doctor appointments, counselling sessions, CPS visits. In grade 9 (new school), same thing. She is smart, shy, and sassy. She knows what to do to get suspended. She really doesn’t care about school or her education. She hates school! There is one person that she will go to school for. She is the only staff member she likes. If it wasn’t for Patty, she wouldn’t have gone back at all last year.

12 yrs, Grade 6

Elementary School

We’ve dealt with school refusal for 6 years, all of my son’s primary schooling. It wasn’t until last year, when he ended up dropping out of grade 5, that I understood school refusal to be a thing. That we weren’t alone. That he wasn’t the only kid unable to attend school at times. School refusal would present itself as severe meltdowns that have even led to very scary panic attacks. My son suffers from anxiety (that most teachers can’t see and therefore refuse to accept as truth), but otherwise does very well in school and has many friends. I’ve asked…

12 yrs. Grade 7

Elementary School

Up until his grade 5 year, my son loved school. However, in grade 5, his teacher did not comprehend that he was not a ‘typical’ grade 5 student. Despite my providing her with information about his LDs, ADHD, executive functioning issues, and his learning needs, she felt he should be able to remember his homework, start his work independently, etc. She also felt she could not continue to follow through on a learning program (that we had paid for and he was successful in) and its basic recommendations, despite my offering to do the “extra work” with him at home…