"A child being mercilessly bullied in the schoolyard. A student with anxiety and ADHD who struggles to walk into a crowded, noisy classroom. A mortified teen who's had an embarrassing photo shared with their entire grade. Such experiences are common. For some kids, they make going to school feel impossible. It's called school avoidance, sometimes even school phobia. It happens when school does not feel safe and staying home becomes a form of self-protection."
"They'll say, like, mean stuff, William said in a quiet voice. William points out he's small for his age at four feet six inches. This, as well as a facial twitch, are two reasons William says he gets bullied in the schoolyard. It's hard to not twitch. I don't know how. His father, Norm, says the bullying is both verbal and physical. When these kinds of incidents happen, I'm pretty well guaranteed there's going to be an absence the next day."
Bullying, anxiety, ADHD-related overwhelm, and social humiliation make school feel unsafe and can lead children to avoid attending. School avoidance, sometimes called school phobia, occurs when staying home becomes self-protection. Reported student absenteeism has risen nationwide, with reported illnesses increasing most and in some districts more than tripling compared with five years earlier. A Toronto family example shows a 12-year-old missing days after repeated verbal and physical bullying. Physical differences and involuntary tics can provoke teasing. Parents report that bullying incidents often produce a resisted return to school and immediate absences the following day.
Read at www.cbc.ca
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