Also, with separation anxiety. My 10 year old daughter has been out a little over 3 weeks (with partial attendance in those weeks). All sudden, out of nowhere before spring break. We are seeing a psychiatrist out of Children's hospital.
Has she had a virus or strep infection recently? Does she have OCD symptoms? If so, she might have PANS or PANDAS. Both my kids have this. Message me if you want more information. This link will help give you an overview.
http://pandasnetwork.org/understandingpandaspans/about-pa...
My daughter had a terrible bout of anxiety about midway through sixth grade, and yes not wanting to go to school (or anywhere else for that matter) was part of it. I won't go into all the details but it turned out in her case she has severe emitiphobia, which is an extreme fear of vomiting/being sick. It took working with a therapist to figure this out and get her mentally healthy again. For sure seeking mental health services is key, good luck!
ETA: I shared my daughter's story because many kids have anxiety and don't even realize it, or how to express it. Refusing to go to school isn't always about problems at school (like not performing well or being bullied/teased) or even problems/changes at home...though those certainly could be reasons.
Could you please give us some details? For instance, was your daughter originally out of school sick with a normal cold etc. and then suddenly didn't want to return? Or did she come home one day and said she was being teased or bullied and didn't want to return? When you say you're taking her to a psychiatrist, do you mean that is still in the works, or it's already happening and she's seen someone already? Does she give any reason for her anxiety, or identify what she fears that's specifically at school? When she has gone back temporarily, what happened during those days? And how have the school and teachers reacted?
It would help to identify parents with similar situations if we have a bit more detail about the specific circumstances.
It is great that you're getting her professional help so fast. Continue to be very assertive in getting her help, so that you can figure out what's triggering this. Many parents would have pushed a kid to go to school and "tough it out" etc., but if there is a problem at school, or if your child is undergoing a mental health issue, it's better to get that worked out ASAP. You're on the right track with professional help.
I haven't dealt with any type of school phobia, but I do have a child with special needs. We are still struggling to understand his needs and how best to help him. We have seen specialists, psychologists, counselors, etc. The best advice I can give is take notes, take notes, take notes. Write down everything. Don't worry about whether or not it's significant, just write it down. The more information you write down, the more helpful you can be to the doctor/specialist. Before each appointment, reread all of your notes. Make a new list of things that are significant, are continuing, concern you, you have questions about ... anything at all you think the person should know or and anything you want to ask about. Bring this all with you. Take notes at any and all appointments. These notes will be invaluable.
I have a notebook for our son. I scan everything the school/doctors/specialists give me. I also share that information with each appointment.
This is how you best help your child. Do not be afraid to share information with the people who are trying to help you.
The first thing that comes to mind is that something is going on at home. I have known children that displayed this behavior when the parents separated. Mom refused to see that the child was reacting to that and tried to insist that it was a social issue at school. Very sad.
I hope you get a good answer.
Do you mean you're about to see a psy or have already been seeing one when this came about?
Something happened here, more than likely at school, but if you're already seeing someone at the hospital, it could even have something to do with that. Something is wrong and did not come out of nowhere.
I hope you and your girl find a peaceful solution. Sending prayers for complete healing for her.
She might have been bullied or teased, or it may have something to do with the separation anxiety, where she does not want to be away from you. My daughter has gone through both of those things, and still has a bit of the separation anxiety, meaning that she does not like me to do morning drop off at the curb, and insists that I walk her into the classroom. If this is something that may calm your daughter and make her happy, you may want to suggest doing that. It only takes a few minutes of your time.
I also try to use that time to talk to the teacher about issues/questions. I would suggest speaking to the teacher as well, maybe the teacher has observed something going on (like a kid who teased her), and she thought it was not important enough to email you about it, but if your child is having a phobia and you explain that to her, it may get the teacher to mention that incident. Is there a school counselor that may have observed her/spoken to her and may also be able to give you some information? Could she be nervous about school testing? I know FSA testing has a lot of kids nervous and anxious. If nothing has changed at home, I would definitely try looking at other things that are a part of her life (school, extracurricular activities), that may be causing her distress.
I am sure the psychiatrist will be able to get some information out of her, so see what he says, but if he thinks it is school-related, then I would email the teacher and speak to the counselor to see if they can fill you and the psychiatrist in on what is going on. By the way, when my child's teacher resigned and a new teacher stepped in, she was anxious about that, as were other kids. It could even be something as minor as a change like that, that is worrying her and making her refuse to want to go back to school. Good luck, and please fill us in if you can.
My pat answer to this is no. Kids don't just suddenly develop a phobia of being at school. Something happens. To a child this age??? Something has happened.
It doesn't have to be something at school either. It could be hearing an argument between parents where one says they're going to leave. Kiddo is afraid of coming home and someone being "gone".
It could be as simple as someone scared her at school. Could be someone isn't being nice to her. Bullies are people that specifically target another child with the plan of creating havoc on their life, pushing them to their limits, etc...not just being mean to them in a casual way. Being bulled is completely different. And it should all be addressed to the teacher, principle if it's not in the classroom kids group.
It could be part of pre-adolescent body changes too. Her hormone levels can be going nuts.
Next time you have a med appointment with the Psychiatrist you might ask them for a good therapist/psychologist that deals with simple phobias/anxiety so she can do a focused therapy on getting over this. I assume you see the psychiatrist for meds since they are medical doctors and very very very seldom take time from their practice to do counseling/therapy with individuals.
Our 2nd grade daughter would cry, complain of stomach pains to the point we were going to the pediatrician & having GI testing done. Then one day while volunteering at school, I overheard her teacher yelling at the whole class because of a few boys acting out. My type A child felt she was being punished for something she didn't do. When we reassured her that the teacher wasn't really speaking to/angry with her it helped some. Without being disrespectful to her teacher, we had to make her realize that the situation wasn't being handled in the best way. We talked to her teacher which helped for a few weeks, but habits can be hard to break. Lots of extra encouragement got us through the year & she loved her 3rd grade teacher!
