TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS

PART 4

A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF INEFFECTIVENESS

 The current disciplinary approach to truancy often relies on punitive measures, which research clearly shows to be highly ineffective. A shift towards primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention programs is recommended. Primary prevention targets all students to reduce truant behavior incidence. Secondary interventions focus on high-risk students with characteristics predictive of truancy, while tertiary interventions are intensive treatments for chronic truants. 

RESEARCH BASED INTERVENTIONS: 

Equity begins with a school climate that embraces every student's worth and potential.

PRIMARY INTERVENTIONS

Creating a positive school climate is crucial in preventing disengagement and truant behavior. Programs aimed at improving academic climate, such as accurate assessment profiles and research-based interventions vs using the social justice system and not discipline-focused negative interventions for manifestations of a disability, have shown success in enhancing student engagement and reducing truancy.

 Tools are available for assessment but are useless unless an appropriate intervention model is used

INAPPROPRIATE USE OF TOOLS LIKE THE “BASC” 

The use of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children (BASC) is a standard tool used by school psychologist in evaluating attitudes toward school among students with truancy issues. The BASC, known for its good psychometric properties, was found by research by NIH to provide skewed response patterns.

The NIH study found a mix of positive and negative attitudes toward school among the students, with negative attitudes being more common. To address this, the researchers recoded responses to reflect positive (1) or negative (0) attitudes and summed these for a total score. On average, students experiencing truancy had a moderately positive attitude score of 6.17 out of 12.

From a psychological evaluation perspective, the Differential Effects of Mental Health Problems among Truant Youths article summarizes his research by Richard Dembo and associates’ challenges in using standardized assessments like the BASC in nuanced contexts such as truancy. It underscores the importance of considering sample size and response patterns when interpreting results.

These findings show a need for more tailored approaches to assess attitudes toward school in truant populations, possibly integrating qualitative methods or customized scales to capture the complexity of their attitudes and motivations. 

Use of these tools not tailored to identify the educational needs of the student are used and results are provided to judges who are then misguided by school clinicians.

OTHER ASSESSMENT TOOLS

The assessment tools below shift the focus away from holding families accountable for systemic or school-based barriers and towards providing them with the necessary support. It empowers families, schools, and Magisterial District Court Judges to proactively identify and address attendance barriers while safeguarding the legal rights of students and families in truancy cases.

• The SCHOOL REFUSAL ASSESSMENT SCALE-REVISED (C) is a psychological assessment tool that Dr.Chris Kearney and Dr. Wendy K. Silverman created to assess what is causing the school truancy.

                The School Refusal Assessment Scale-Revised (C):    https://schoolavoidance.org/wp-                                    content/uploads/2021/11/sras-child-version.pdf

• THE FAMILY NEEDS SELF-ASSESSMENT TOOL is designed to assist families facing attendance barriers in accordance with truancy laws. It enables families to identify attendance obstacles, seek necessary support, and prepare for the School Attendance Improvement Conference, a crucial step mandated before any truancy court referral and after a student accumulates six unexcused absences.

Family Needs Self-Assessment to Address Attendance Barriers:

https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/family-attendance-screener.pdf

• THE LEA SCHOOL ATTENDANCE BARRIERS AND MCKINNEY-VENTO SCREENER tool is essential for schools to fulfill their legal responsibilities under Pennsylvania's truancy laws. It helps schools identify and address barriers to student attendance during the School Attendance Improvement Conference, a required step before any truancy court referral and after a student accumulates six unexcused absences. This tool enables schools to identify attendance obstacles and take necessary actions to comply with truancy laws upon identifying a barrier.

 School Attendance Barriers and McKinney-Vento Screener:

https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/School-Attendance-Barriers-and-McKinney-Vento-Screener.pdf

• THE MAGISTERIAL DISTRICT COURT JUDGES TOOL TO ADDRESS TRUANCY REFERRALS supports Magisterial District Court Judges (MDJs) in overseeing truancy cases and applying appropriate penalties to families and students when necessary. This tool ensures that local education agencies (LEAs) have identified all attendance barriers related to truancy laws and have fulfilled their duties. It also offers actionable steps to address school-related issues within the truancy context.

MDJ Magistratal District Court Tool to address truancy referrals / Screener: https://www.elc-pa.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/elc-mdj-screener.pdf

SECONDARY INTERVENTIONS

 Empowering a student with disabilities means equipping them with the tools to navigate challenges confidently.

Interventions targeting risk factors like self-esteem and social skills have been effective. research-based:

Life Skills Training and self-advocacy training interventions

Cognitive Behavioral Skills Training

To enhance the students’ self-esteem, and improve or develop coping skills to address stress, decision-making, problem-solving, social skills, and effective self-advocacy communication and critical thinking skills.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

To start to identify their thought patterns - negative and irrational thoughts

Get the student to start to understand why they think what they think which results in the feelings they have

Address a lack of introspection – which causes the automatic emotional and physical response when exposed to their triggers.

Analysis of their thoughts and replacement with more rational and positive ones.

Dialectal Behavioral Therapy (DBT)

To work through their intense feelings and emotions in what is usually a 6-month program of group therapy to deal with

acceptance – with core mindfulness and distress tolerance

making changes - in emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.

This allows them to understand how their thoughts influence their behavior  

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy must be done slowly exposing a child to their fear. Only with and coordinated after therapy first. This must be done carefully and under the supervision of a clinician with experience in emotionally based school avoidance or scolionophobia.

Exposure Therapy can include:

• Talking about school.
• Looking at photos of the school.
• Sending an email to a teacher at school
• Having a conversation (phone) with a teacher or counselor at school
• Visit the school outside of school hours
• Meet a trusted member of staff
• Getting dressed for school even if they don’t go
• Visiting the school for a very short period of time, as tolerated
• Integration with other students in an informal non-school setting
• Integration into formal classes or groups as tolerated
• Increasing time spent at school - gradually over days or weeks

Highly specific behavioral data must be taken throughout this process so to assess how to progress and measure progress or toleration. Exposure therapy before a student is ready can cause regression and a longer recovery time.

Medications

THE WIDESPREAD USE OF MEDICATIONS

HAS BEEN WIDELY CRITICIZED AS AN

IMPROPER FORM OF SOCIAL CONTROL &

INTOLERANCE OF CHILDREN'S DIFFERENCES.

Older students can participate in talk therapy.  Most psychotropic medications take 6-8 weeks to begin to become therapeutic and adjustments may need to occur so it is not uncommon for 12 -16 weeks to pass before their effectiveness at the right dose might be seen. SSRIs may address the anxiety but not the antecedents to the behavior which need to be identified and addressed. Some of the medications used like benzodiazepines are addictive and cause drowsiness and cognitive impairment.  Students and parents are already cited for truancy by then. Psychotropic medications do not address the antecedents that contribute to school refusal!  Again another band-aid and not solve the core issues.

Per NIH’s Nation Library of Medicine - School refusal “prognosis is good and often spontaneously resolves with age, dissipating harmlessly without any residual dysfunction. Thus, generally, the prognosis is positive”

PUBLIC SCHOOLS MAY NOT

REQUIRE OR  PRESSURE PARENTS

INTO MEDICATING STUDENTS

Laws protect parents from having to medicate their child in order to receive special education services or to attend school!

Parents have the authority to make health care decisions- including medications and treatment - for the child without other influences. Many states have laws that state that a “legal guardian's refusal to administer or consent to the administration of a psychotropic drug their child in and of itself would not be considered to be reasonable cause to suspect that child abuse or child neglect has occurred” … “as long as they do not present as a substantial risk of physical harm to himself, herself, or another person” as determined by a treating physician.

TERTIARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS

Justice demands that we intervene compassionately, not punitively, for students facing persistent barriers to their education.

Behavioral interventions like contingent reinforcement procedures and parental involvement have shown promise in reducing chronic truancy. This requires a BCBA to develop an FBA and PBSP. It must be done by someone trained in School Phobia intervention and coordinated with a treating psychologist or psychiatrist.

Alternative schools provide structured environments for at-risk students and have been successful in decreasing absenteeism and dropout rates. The least restrictive environment can include alternative school placement, instruction in the home or home-bound services. 

MULTILEVEL INTERVENTION

Truancy prevention requires collaboration among educators, special education evaluators, health care providers, law enforcement, parents, and communities. Educating parents and health care providers about truancy’s legal consequences, and long-term impacts is crucial. Community involvement through school meetings and newsletters reinforces truancy prevention messages.

We need you to be part of the conversation that shapes a brighter future for all students. The following lays out the article  "REDEFINING TRUANCY PREVENTION AND FAILURE" by DR. MARIE LEWIS, PHD, BCEA to be published over the next two blogs.

COMING UP NEXT

5.  PREVENTION of SCHOOL REFUSAL AND TRUANCY

IMPLEMENTATION ISUES AND ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE NEEDED

PREVENTION IMPLEMENTATION PREPARATION

NAVIGATING SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCACY AND TRUANCY ADVOCACY

FACING THE UNCOMFORTABLE TRUTH

BUILDING A FUTURE OF EQUITY MEANS DISMANTLING BARRIERS

6.  WHAT SHOULD A PARENT DO WHEN SCHOOL REFUSAL OR TRUANCY RAISES ITS UGLY HEAD?

  1.  BREAKING THE CYCLE OF TRUANCY

A HIDDEN EPIDEMIC

ARE TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS NEGLECT?

PREVALENCE AND IMPACT

HEADS IN THE SAND

2.  THOSE NOT DOING THEIR JOBS

HISTORY OF TRUANCY LAWS

SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGISTS

SCHOOL SOCIAL WORKERS

EMPOWERING PARENTS

CROSS-TRAINING SPECIAL EDUCATION ADVOCATES

3.  DEFINING TRUANCY VS SCHOOL AVERSION / SCOLIONOPHOBIA

SYSTEMIC CHAOS

DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS CRITERIA FOR SCHOOL REFUSAL AND TRUANCY

DEFINING TRUANCY

TRUANCY RISK FACTORS

DEFINING SCHOOL AVERSION

SCHOOL REFUSAL RISK FACTORS

4.  TRUANCY INTERVENTIONS

A COMPREHENSIVE MODEL OF INEFFECTIVENESS

RESEARCH BASED INTERVENTIONS

INAPPROPRIATE USE OF TOOLS

ASSESSMENT TOOLS

SECONDARY INTERVENTIONS

TERTIARY PREVENTION INTERVENTIONS

MULTILEVEL INTERVENTION

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AUTHOR

Marie Lewis is an author, consultant, and national speaker on best practices in education advocacy. She is a parent of 3 children and a Disability Case Manager, Board Certified Education Advocate, and Behavior Specialist Consultant. She has assisted in the development of thousands of IEPs nationally and consults on developing appropriately individualized IEPs that are outcome-based vs legally sufficient. She brings a great depth of expertise, practical experience, and compassion to her work as well as expert insight, vision, and systemic thinking. She is passionate and funny and she always inspires and informs.