How can parents and teachers best support neurodivergent children and teenagers to re-engage back in school?

Many parents are quietly facing a really difficult challenge right now. A child or teenager who doesn’t want to go to school. This comes about because something about school feels overwhelming, unsafe, or distressing. This experience is commonly referred to as Emotionally Based School Avoidance (EBSA). What is the most supportive approach that parents and teachers can take in identifying the factors that can help these young people re-engage with school? A recent research study provides some important insights. Importantly this study involved consulting with young people themselves to identify these factors, as well as their parents and teachers.

Let’s take a closer look at what the study did and found before considering the implications. This study, conducted by researchers at the Universities of Leeds and Manchester, involved what is called a ‘multiple case design’ where they included 3 autistic teenage girls who had successfully re-engaged in mainstream high school education after a period of what was identified as emotion based school avoidance. The researchers collected information from the young person themselves, their parent and a member of school staff ensuring all voices were heard.

The researchers interviewed all involved in the study. When they analysed the information they gathered, it showed there were 8 ‘themes’ that were important in supporting the girls’ re-engagement with school.  These were:

• Relationship with adult and wider staff team
• Relationship with peers and friends
• Belonging in the school community
• Individualised flexible approach
• Incorporating the voice of the young person into the support plan
• Parent advocacy
• Relationships with outside agencies
• Diagnosis supporting girl’s re-engagement

Let’s explore these in more detail. The study findings show that trusting relationships are central to the pupil’s successful re-engagement with school. The relationship between the young person and key staff was especially important. The researchers highlighted that teachers awareness of neurodivergent conditions, that relates to the specific characteristics of the young person, was particularly important. As the researchers note, autistic young girls often present their difficulties in a different way to what in the past the typical view of autism looks like. Teachers having up-to-date information on these conditions is very important for enabling understanding of the young person.

Successful re-engagement also involved an individualised flexible approach. This ensures the young person felt safe in re-engaging with school. In the first phase of their return, this meant the young person not returning to their mainstream class. Instead this involved developing positive relationships with staff in what were deemed safe spaces by everyone in the school.  The study found that supporting mental health with interactions focused on self-worth and positive thinking, importantly delivered by the teacher in these scenarios, was very effective.

Individualised planning, with the young person at the center of the plan, was  shown to be important to successful engagement. At EPIC Think Learn, we similarly emphasise an individualised approach – all the adults involved in a young person’s care – taking time to understand the young person’s neurodivergent characteristics that are personal to them. Working together is important for identifying their strengths that can potentially be drawn on to motivate them. It is also important to work together to identify the difficulties they have as they are likely acting as barriers that are stopping them from re-engaging effectively.

The girls also benefitted with support from staff in relation to their relationships with friends and peers. The researchers noted the importance of whole class approaches for fostering positive relationships around understanding neurodivergence. We have developed whole class materials for helping the whole class learn about how their brain works and how some peers may have more difficulties in things like controlling responses, being flexible and organising their time and work. Such resources can be helpful in fostering understanding and supporting positive relationships based on that understanding.

We have been busy developing new resources on the topic of parent and teacher communication and have released a number of infographics with strategies to support parents in their communication with school. We have also developed resources for young people themselves in their communication at school and preparing for meetings at school. You can access these free to view or download resources here: https://epicthinklearn.com/resources-optin/

We will be hosting a webinar on our parent platform on this topic next week. On 23 March at 7:30pm, specialist Colette Longden will be delivering a webinar for parents exploring:
• What EBSA is (and what it isn’t)
• Why it develops
• How parents can support children experiencing school anxiety
• Ways to work collaboratively with schools

This will be followed in April by a peer support session led by Colette. To join us as a member, which will also give you access to our pre-existing library of over 15 webinars on neurodiversity topics from expert speakers and extensive resources, join us as a member here: https://epicthinklearn.com/parents-join-epic/