As the school year for 2024 begins, many parents are excited to get back into the routine of the school year and have their children engage in learning and socialising at school. New teachers, new classmates, new friendships and for some, new school. Back to school promotions remind us we need to get supplies for the new school year and the smell of stationary as it is labelled gets us ready for the new year. There can be a wide variety of reactions about the new school year from one student to another and even that same child in the same day. Emotions can range from excitement and optimism to anxiety, irritation and grief over holidays ending and everything in between as parents manage the roller coaster looking forward to a new routine that may make things a bit little organised.
What happens when your child is exhibiting signs of stress about the new school year?
For some students, change can be incredibly difficult and may lead to behavioural challenges. If your child is reactive due to anxiety, sleeplessness or is having mood variations, it can be helpful to have lots of short discussions so that they are mentally prepared for new experiences the new school year brings. For neurodiverse children (Autistic and ADHD), it is important to have open conversations and allow them to express any fears they may have without judgement. Acknowledgement of any worries can allow us to develop strategies to feel safe and secure to ensure their nervous system is returning to homeostasis (back to base).
Most students experience anxiety walking into a new school room. For some, more anxiety sits below the surface. Students who appear to be coping well on the outside, may be very good at masking. Their nervous system may be seconds away from fight, flight, flee or fawn. Suggestions from well-meaning teachers who tell parents to leave them at the gate, may not support a child who has had traumatic experiences of abandonment. Using disciplinary methods or tough love may lengthen the period of anxiety or behavioural challenge. A better alternative is to distract towards an area of interest along with acknowledgment of their feelings, reminding them of a pre prepared support strategy to help them to feel secure and safe.
Supporting neurodiverse students to navigate sensory challenges can be very difficult for teachers and classroom management and may require some creative thinking to include all children. For those who are neurodivergent, it is imperative that we are mindful of their need to remove themselves to a safe space to avoid sensory overload from the overhead buzzing or flickering lights, sounds and textures. Differences in the neurodivergent brains show variation in connections between the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, suggesting emotional dysregulation is more readily activated. In neurodivergent and trauma affected individuals, the nervous response of fight, flight, flee or fawn may be instigated more readily through a reduced window of tolerance.
Supporting your child back to school is increasingly important as we see the national trend of school refusal that led to an Australian senate inquiry in 2023. The inquiry indicated a steady climb over the past 10 years. The School Can’t support group membership has been increasing at a rapid pace in 2023 and currently has over 11,000 members across Australia with a long wait list. At the same time, studies show significantly greater numbers of hospital admissions for mental ill health in adolescents. There is a growing need to support nervous systems of children and adolescents to encourage engagement at school. The confluence of recent traumatic events such as the pandemic, bushfires, floods and economic distress has seen a sharp rise in this ever-increasing problem. The narrative around school avoidance as a behavioural issue creates a higher level of stress for families who are already affected psychologically, socially and economically. Acknowledging the biological differences in the neurodivergent and those affected by trauma may assist with integration individually and inclusion in the wider community.
School stress through the lens of truancy and bad behaviour has been exacerbating anxiety in the neurodivergent community after Covid lockdowns. An authoritative approach does not consider the physiological responses of the nervous system and the longitudinal impact on mental health and the effects on the whole body in neurodivergent and trauma affected individuals. Thankfully, many schools are adopting practices of contemplative practices such as yoga, mindfulness. The science shows that they are beneficial in the improvement of the window of tolerance. Mindfulness underpins many contemporary therapeutic modalities such as Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and has been found to improve executive function and emotional regulation.
Looking at school stress through the lens of the nervous system, with a compassionate view tends to bring about creative ideas for resolving a lack of school engagement. Finding ways to support students requires the ability to see the world through the student’s eyes.
Calling for expressions of interest in participating in a novel research pilot study, Mindful Photovoice
For students disengaged or disengaging from the school environment, to promote understanding in the wider community and offer a therapeutic means to re-engage students into the school environment. The pilot study will investigate the unmet needs of the neurodivergent community in the schools and provide an awareness campaign to demonstrate the accommodations required for those with differences in executive function, emotional regulation and sensory sensitivities via an exhibition later in 2024. With as many as 1 in 3 students over the past 12 months have reporting persistent school attendance problems, it is clear that disciplinary methods are having very little impact on some student’s capacity to cope with the stress and anxiety that the school environment. Researching the intersection between neurodivergence and school attendance problems, the data suggests the unmet sensory needs and the differences in the way some students experience their learning environment sets off alarm bells leading to a fight of flight response and reduced window of tolerance, not an ideal learning state.
As I continue to research novel ideas for bridging the gap between those who experience sensory processing difficulties, social anxiety and relationship challenges, I’m developing a research proposal to investigate photovoice method, participatory photography, hermeneutic photography and photo elicitation, incorporating mindfulness-based practice with photography for those who School Can’t in the hopes to re-engage students, promote awareness of differences in experience and develop new ways to provide optimal learning environments.
This research will explore the difficulties of attending school due to mental health challenges with compassion rather than judgement, inclusivity and acceptance. This pilot study is the brainchild of Karen Merry, counsellor, photographer, teacher and neurodivergence advocate with lived experience of ADHD. As part of a Master of Counselling, Karen has published her thesis DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.15034.36806 and hopes to continue with a PHD later in 2024.
References:
Australian Senate Education & Employment References Committee. (2023). The national trend of school refusal and related matters. Retrieved November 12, 2023 from https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportsen/RB000090/toc_pdf/Thenationaltrendofschoolrefusalandrelatedmatters.pdf
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