Suggests that if children's emotional concerns are not met, any attempt at cognitive learning is useless. Describes the Right Start Program, which smoothes the transition from home to school through a school picnic, "let's read" night, class visit, and optional home visits. Notes some possible impediments to implementation such as teachers'…

Of 135 autistic and/or mentally retarded Tokyo youngsters, 30 with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) and 2 with nonautistic mental retardation exhibited school refusal. School refusal was significantly more frequent in other PDDs than in nonautistic mental retardation. The intellectual level was significantly higher in PDD children with…

Discusses the etiology of school phobia and differentiates between chronic and acute phobia. Three treatment steps are recommended: 1) physician must rule out organic problems; 2) counseling must occur with the family with the goal of getting the child to school immediately; 3) school personnel must be reassured to keep the child in school.…

School refusal, as differentiated from both school phobia and truancy, is a term used to denote emotionally-based avoidance of school. To identify factors associated with school refusal, 41 junior high and high school students (including special education school refusers, special education non-refusers, and a comparison group from a regular…

Presents an annotated bibliography of children's books which parents and teachers can use to help young children deal with separation anxiety and other feelings associated with the beginning of school. (BB)

Three measures of self-esteem were used to test the hypothesis that college students with low self-esteem would predict getting lower grades on an examination than high-self esteem subjects. The hypothesis was confirmed for the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory but not for the Ziller Social Self-Esteem scale or for the subscale of the Coopersmith…

Relates school and family systems and social network theories to an understanding of children's coping with self to enhance children's self-concept. Suggests several techniques for counseling children with learning and social problems such as poor self-concept or low self-esteem, cheating, truancy, underachievement, school-related tension and…

Reports the results of interviews with three-, four-, and five-year-old children at various child care centers in Columbia, South Carolina, concerning their fears. The fear of "monsters" was most often reported. Suggests what parents and teachers can do to help children cope with their fears. (BB)

This paper presents a case study of successful intervention with a boy (in fourth grade at the time of the intervention) who would not speak in the school environment. Intervention involved medication with Fluoxetine to relieve anxiety, parental involvement, and a six-step behavioral therapy plan of gradually increasing speech demands in the…

This literature review focuses on behavioral intervention strategies for the reduction of school-related fears and anxieties. Major behavior therapy procedures are discussed: systematic desensitization and its variations, modeling, self-control, and cognitive behavioral approaches. General research trends in fear and anxiety reduction are also…

In Ontario the truant officer has been replaced by the Attendance Counselor who works with students, parents, the educational system, and the community. Truancy is a symptom of many social and psychological problems--economic deprivation, social and family problems, emotional disturbance, etc. The Attendance Counselor must refer those students…

This paper emphasizes the need to look for causes of school phobia and maladjustment not only in the pupil, but also in his peer interactions and in aspects of the school, particularly teachers' attitudes toward communication and the use of language in learning. (Author/SJL)

Excitement is in the air as a new school year gets underway! It is up to the early childhood program teacher to set the stage for a wonderful year of learning and exploration. And just how is that done? How can one prepare a classroom that is ready to welcome children with open arms? How does one invite families into one's program in a way that is…

The confusion surrounding all aspects of school refusal may rest partly on the misguided assumption that the disturbance represents a single syndrome. Five consistently emerging variables which may help distinguish among school phobic types were abstracted from the literature: extensiveness of disturbance, mode of onset, age, fear source, and…

This publication contains eight research papers presented and discussed at the April 1977 second annual Carolina Counselors' Spring Symposium. They cover a wide range of topics: (1) self-concept as it relates to adjustment in the blind; (2) open-space school and its guidance strategies; (3) death education and counseling; (4) the locus of control…