Author(s): Eman Ahmed Zaky
School refusal is problematic to the child and his family because modern societies value education and make primary schooling compulsory. Its prevalence is about 2% among school aged children and it represents 5% of children’s referrals because of a suspected pediatric mental disorder. School refusal is not a diagnosis but an alarming manifestation of many problems involving the child, family, and or school. After detailed physical and mental evaluation, intervention must be tailored individually and it entails a combination of Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Family Therapy, Pediatric Mental Health Education liaison, and the intake of appropriate medications for any discovered associated pediatric mental disorder. The success rate of proper management of school refusal is about 70%. The younger the child, the milder the associated symptoms, and the earlier the intervention, the better the prognosis.
