Kristen McNeely, a BCBA and Licensed Marital and Family Therapist from California, shares her expertise on the rising issues of school refusal and chronic absenteeism. She distinguishes between these terms, emphasizing the role of anxiety in children's attendance patterns. McNeely discusses effective strategies for parents to intervene, the importance of wraparound support, and the psychological impacts on families post-COVID. She also offers personal insights and resources to help navigate these challenging situations, making it a must-listen for concerned parents.
01:16:31
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
insights INSIGHT
Rising Chronic Absenteeism Post-COVID
Chronic absenteeism rates are rising post-COVID; in California, about 20% of students are affected.
Absence leads to missed education and critical social interactions essential for mental health.
insights INSIGHT
School Refusal Leading to Failure to Launch
School refusal can lead to 'Failure to Launch,' where young adults lack independence in work, living, and relationships.
This phenomenon is increasing and extends the impact beyond school years.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Reducing Family Accommodations
Map all family accommodations that reduce child's anxiety, as these often reinforce school refusal.
Help parents recognize and gradually fade these accommodations to support attendance.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
Kristen McNeely joins me for an informative discussion about the challenging topic of School Refusal and Chronic Absenteeism.
If you are in any way connected to a school community, you've probably heard about this difficult and growing problem. As we discuss in this episode, school refusal is an ever-growing concern, and it manifests itself in numerous ways.
Kristen is both a BCBA and a Licensed Marital and Family Therapist in California, and she spends nearly all of her time working with parents who have children who engage in school refusal.
In this episode, we cover:
The distinction between the terms Chronic Absenteeism and School Refusal.
How School Refusal can be thought of as a continuum of attendance patterns.
The role of anxiety in these response patterns.
Assessing the function of School Refusal behaviors.
Helping parents intervene with School Refusal.
The importance of wrap around supports for severe cases.
How School Refusal can turn into what's known as Failure to Launch.
You're going to want to listen all the way through to the end because she closes the show not only some awesome advice for the newly minted, but a poignant personal story.
Frontera. Consider taking a demo of Frontera's Assessment Builder and see how the ethical application of AI technologies can help you serve clients and save you time! Your first assessment report is free. And if you use code BOP25 you'll get an additional five assessments for just $100. So head to fronterahealth.com to check it out!
HRIC Recruting. Cut out the middleman and speak directly with Barbara Voss, who's been placing BCBAs in great jobs all across the US for 15 years.
CEUs from Behavioral Observations. Learn from your favorite podcast guests while you're commuting, walking the dog, or whatever else you do while listening to podcasts. New events are being added all the time, so check them out here.
The Behavioral Observations Podcast with Matt Cicoria