In response to a growing need for services that address school refusal, our staff have teamed together to provide a School Refusal Treatment Plan.

Our Plan

Dr. Rob Adams will coordinate services among providers to target anxiety, family distress, or other issues that disrupt a child’s ability to effectively attend and participate in school. Individualized treatment plans will include services to:

• Educate
• Increase coping skills
• Lessen incidental reinforcement
• Assess and address deficits in learning, attention, and executive functioning

This intensive, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative approach will take place across two to three weeks. Dr. Adams will work with school staff and medical providers to coordinate academic accommodations, re-entry plans, and medication management. Home practice and parent participation will be utilized to help generate and maintain treatment progress.

Our Goal

The goal of this program is to effectively address anxiety or other mental health needs in order to return a student to school in a fashion that supports ongoing attendance and emotional health. Working collaboratively with referral sources and other professionals will help provide multi-tiered support to a multi-faceted problem.

Families may contact Dr. Adams or our office to schedule an initial evaluation or discuss questions about the program.

Initial Consultation
The initial two-hour consultation includes gathering of background information, treatment planning, review of relevant mental health and academic records, and consultation with relevant providers and school staff. Based on this consultation, one of two tracks will be recommended:

• Track 1 is slightly more intensive, with more comprehensive testing, instruction, and wrap-around services. In this track, students can expect to receive approximately 10-15 hours worth of service in the first week of the program and between 5-10 hours of service across weeks two and three of the program.
• Track 2 is appropriate for students who may have already had an evaluation to determine cognitive and academic areas of need and who may already be in therapy, but are experiencing anxiety or school refusal nonetheless. Students enrolled in this track can expect to receive 5-10 hours of service in the first week of the treatment program and approximately 5 hours of service across the second and third weeks of the program.

If additional supports and services are required outside of the treatment program, these will be arranged and discussed on an individual basis.

Basic Treatment Structure

• Week 1: Assessment and Education
• Week 2: Skill Building
• Week 3: Re-entry