School Refusal in Autistic Youth

This study aims to explore school refusal, particularly the way we assess and classify reasons for school refusal, in school aged autistic and non-autistic youth.

Parents of a child age 5-13, parent must be 18+, be located in the US, have internet access, and read/speak English. Their child should attend school outside the home, reside with the participating parent at least 60% of the time, and experience school refusal or resistance to/difficulty with regular school attendance.

Participants will first complete an online screening survey, which takes about 20-30 minutes. If participants are then determined to be eligible, they will complete about 30 minutes of additional surveys about their child, and then will attend a 30-45 minute Zoom interview with a researcher. During this interview they will be asked to talk about their child’s school experiences and the reasons for their school refusal or avoidance.

Autistic children miss school at high rates, which can decrease access to academic, social, and adaptive development opportunities. A large portion of these absences is attributed to school refusal, or emotionally/behaviorally driven attempts to avoid school. Recent studies suggest that current assessment tools for understanding school refusal do not adequately capture the experiences of autistic children. This study will inform attempts to improve assessment of (and subsequently, supports for) autistic children struggling with school attendance.