What is school phobia | Diseases and conditions.

School phobia

Throughout their development children have fears considered as evolutionary as they can be understood as normal for the stage in which. However, when these fears do not appear at this stage, are too persistent, frequent, or intense, both as to interfere in the day-to-day operations of the small, spent considering them fears, to call them 'phobias'. For the field that affects and implications, school phobia is one of the most disabling childhood anxiety disorders and affecting most negatively to the development of the small. What is it?
Unlike the refusal go to school or steers, school phobia is characterized by a level of intense anxiety before having to go to school, which leads the child to avoid this situation with the knowledge of parents or to attend the same experiencing much discomfort. In other words, is not that the child refuses to go to school by laziness, lack of motivation or unwillingness, if not that there is a real problem back that generates this visceral rejection.
It is estimated that you between a 1-1, 5% of school children suffer from this disorder, many of whom do not receive treatment. Social phobia affects equally to boys and girls, while some studies indicate that it does more to girls. In which the majority of perpetrators are agreed is that is most frequently in early (from 11 years) adolescence, although it can occur at any time of the school stage.
The main consequence of school phobia is the retardation of the child to follow the school programming, increasing the odds of failure at school. But, besides in schools, this disorder can alter the social relations of the small, making this feel displaced from their peer group. Both acts make the child's self-esteem to decrease, and may give rise to emotional disorders such as depression child.

Symptoms and diagnosis of school phobia

Some parents do not know if they are exaggerating when they come, usually first to the pediatrician, concerned about the persistent refusal of his son does not want to go to the College suspecting a school phobia. Many even go to consultation, because they are not able to detect it. To help you do it you are main symptoms or manifestations of a child with school phobia, that orient their correct diagnosis:
• Problems to go to the College, involving prolonged absences from school (the child stays at home). These absences are consensual by parents.
• Intense emotional discomfort: intense fear, irritability, or an excess of physical complaints (headache, vomiting, pancia) the situation of having to go to school.
As we can see in the light of these criteria, school phobia is far from mere laziness or negative behaviour of the child at the time of going to school, even though, as we will see below, there are other disorders that it is important to differentiate it.

Do school phobia, refusal to go to school or other problems?

It is important to carry out a proper differential diagnosis of school phobia in order not to be confused with other emotional and behavioral problems that can share some manifestations in common:
• Disorder by separation anxiety: the fear appears not only the situation of going to school, but before any circumstances involving separate from attachment figures. It usually appears before the school phobia.
• Absenteeism: the child with school absenteeism is not at home with the consent of the parents. This behavioral problem typically associated with other behaviors disocial like stealing, lying, etc.
• Social phobia: it can be found on the base of the anxiety or the fear of going to school, but the malaise of social phobia goes beyond the mere fact of going to school, since the child spends it badly in social circumstances outside and within the school.
• Child depression: the child not only depressed loses interest by the school, but also by activities outside this (family activities, play with friends, etc).
• Other serious psychiatric disorders: a difference of in school phobia, children with severe mental disorders have hallucinations or delusions.

Causes of school phobia

School phobia is a disorder with multiple causes. Below are in order of frequency the main reasons which may give rise to which your child is panic going to school:
• Direct bad experience at school: one of the key causes of school phobia is a bad relationship of the child with a teacher or some partners, due to experiences in which small said raised levels levels of discomfort, trying to avoid by not going to College.
• Bad experience observed or counted by other people: the transmission of information or observation are another means of acquisition of phobias. It is not necessary that the child has had a bad experience, just observes it in another partner or other friends have told her or even media. For example, that a child will have entered with another, they have threatened or a aggressive conduct by the professor to another student.
• Reinforcement by the family: this cause is primarily involved in the maintenance of school phobia. It appears when attention is paid to the child more at times that shows fear or stays at home when it does not. In this way, the maintenance of the phobia allows you to profit.
• The child's personality traits: deficit of social skills, shyness, tendency to isolation, etc.

Tips to deal with school phobia

• The attitude of parents is essential when it comes to detecting and addressing a problem of social phobia. On the one hand no may be that the child does not go to school. However, a tax and rigid attitude in this respect may sensitize further the child. This is why parents should show an attitude understanding and acceptance of what happens to the child, but of "non-approval" of its resulting behavior: not to go to class. For example, you can use phrases like "I realize that go wrong when you go to school and you understand, but we have to find a way to help you lose the fear". Or "it is important to go to school and I am willing to help you in the way you need it, but staying at home I'm not doing it."
• Back to school is the most effective therapy because, as in the rest of the phobias, it is very important to help children to cope with their fear. Exposure can be added other techniques as the previous home relaxation so that your child goes less activated, or emotive display of Nice images (e.g. verbalize the child the good things that can be found when you go to class, as well as how to solve difficulties that could find there with your professor or fellow). A specialized psychotherapist is who trains parents in the application of these techniques.
• If we know the reason why the child does not want to go to school is important to discuss this with him and pass it at school, so they also have it in mind providing the ground as far as possible (for example, if there is a child who insults you must ask your tutor is especially outstanding of this child and our child's behavior).
A gentle, but firm, so parents should insist on the immediate return of the child to school, so you should explain that you must go back the next day and thus comply with it. Later, it is recommended that on the way to school is choose a theme of pleasant conversation for your child, without avoiding the conversation where the small express their unease, but maintain the stance that should go to school and face their fears.
• It is also important that parents help the child away from home to spend more time with other boys and girls of their age and not so much with them. In this way, it will acquire appropriate social skills to interact with classmates.

What can you do from the school?

• The role played by the school, their teachers, school phobia is also crucial when it comes to detect it, but much more still to delete it. The attitude of teachers should be tolerant and sympathetic yet firm regarding the importance of going to school every day.
• The school should not overprotect the students with school phobia, but yes provide things to the extent possible, working with parents and a specialist psychologist. Especially if the problem of the child is in some aspect that comes from the school, it will be responsible address it immediately in order to facilitate the well-being of the student in their classroom.
• On the other hand, it is important that teachers use positive reinforcement to the child's behavior to come to class; that is, should never ridicule him, but to encourage you for having come, praising their achievements and progress in this field in a subtle manner, so don't feel different from their peers.

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