When the yellow
school bus turned the corner and approached the bus stop, Christopher grabbed
for his mother, attaching himself to her in a human vice grip aimed at
preventing his being pried away and once again forced onto the bus.
Christopher,
concluded the graduate counseling students who were assigned to review
his case, was a classic example of school anxiety, which is a sort of extreme
separation anxiety. As parents once again prepare to send children back
to school, experts point out fall can mark the beginning of a long and
traumatic term for many students.
In Christopher's
case, his symptoms persisted for more than two months after his first day
at kindergarten. For him every school day was filled with tears, dread
and sometimes even physical symptoms.
Moreover, Christopher's
problems "extended beyond school anxiety to include social phobia since
he was also unable to interact socially -- that is 'make friends' -- during
his after school hours," explained Melissa O'Donnell, a graduate counseling
student at Cleveland State University and a school counseling intern in
a suburban Cleveland school system.
Gilbert J. Botvin,
professor of public health and psychiatry at Weill Medical College of Cornell
University in New York and president of the Society for Prevention Research,
told United Press International ignoring Christopher's symptoms now will
lead to trouble later on.
Back-to-school
or starting school for the first time is a transition that is likely to
cause "some degree of separation anxiety" but Botvin said when problems
persist for three weeks or more it is time to ask for help.
The first place
to seek help is at the school. School counselors, he said, "recognize the
problem and usually know how to help both parents and students cope with
this stressful transition."
Among the most
useful coping skills, O'Donnell said, are techniques called approximation
and imaging. Approximation means making some adjustments to achieve a desired
goal.
"For example,
you might be able to calm the child by driving him or her to school as
an interim step before using the school bus," she said. She noted a school
counselor can help parents design an
approximation plan.
Imaging, said
Botvin, is an especially useful technique but can be difficult with very
young children. The child is taught how to "imagine themselves in a pleasing
environment, perhaps at the beach. They are taught to feel the warmth of
the sun, hear the ocean, for example, and this allows them to relax," he
said.
Botvin also
teaches diaphragmatic breathing -- the type of deep breathing used in yoga
-- as another coping tool.
"This breathing
actually expands the abdomen and is an excellent calming technique," he
said, but noted imaging and breathing exercises usually work best with
older children, beginning around age 10.
For the very
youngest children, Botvin said prevention is the best approach. Separation
anxiety can be diminished or even eliminated with a few simple techniques,
such as visiting the school ahead of time, talking in a positive way about
the school experience and offering detailed explanations of what children
can expect during their school days.
"And -- this
is very important -- be available for 'debriefing' after school," he said.
The debriefing in which the child is asked about his or her school day
can be done immediately after school or during a family gathering "such
as during the evening meal when both children and adults talk about the
day."
Another preventive
approach is to avoid the long good-bye.
"Don't linger
at the school, especially if the child is clinging. Just say good-bye and
leave," said Botvin, who added while many parents think they can ease the
child into a good-bye that approach usually does more harm than good.
In any case,
Botvin said parents and educators need to tackle school stress early because
left alone it is likely to escalate into major problems.
"These children
tend not to bond with school; the result is lower academic achievement
for them as well as a progression into 'behavior' problems," he said. In
the long run, these children can be at risk for substance abuse.
Even children
who initially adjust well to school could move into the "at-risk" category
when they move from elementary school to middle school or middle school
to high school. These transitions are considered especially high stress
because children move from being the big fish as oldest students to little
fish as the youngest students in a new school environment.
A good but disturbing
primer on these transitional risks is contained in a newly released film
"Thirteen". The movie, which won top awards at the Sundance Film Festival,
chronicles the transition of one young girl from playing with Barbie dolls
to a promiscuous lifestyle under the tutelage of a Lolita-like classmate.
Botvin, who
hasn't seen the movie but noted the review suggested a fairly accurate
depiction of a middle-school experience gone bad, said he doesn't take
an alarmist approach to risks but urges parents and students to be on guard.
He added the risks are likely to be higher when the student is not only
making the jump from elementary to middle school or middle school to high
school but also is facing a "a new school in a new town."
When a family
move coincides with a move up in the education system "stress is naturally
increased," he said. "These two things produce a certain critical increase
in the risk of engaging in substance abuse behaviors."
So what can
be done?
As with public
service announcements, talk is a powerful anti-drug, Botvin said, but warned
research suggests the most powerful influences on children are the behaviors
of friends and "modeling behavior of older students in school."
If freshmen
see juniors and seniors smoking or having weekend beer bashes to celebrate
the latest football victory, the freshmen are at increased risk for similar
behavior.
Traditionally,
schools responded with drug education programs that either used scare tactics
-- showing the dire legal and health consequences of drinking and drug
use -- or with health classes that offered so much information about the
pharmacology of drugs they "became 'how-to' courses that actually encourage
drug use," Botvin said.
Schools now
are moving toward evidence-based programs that teach "coping skills," including
ways to avoid peer pressure, These goal-oriented programs teach students
to build self-worth based on simple accomplishments, such as improving
musical skills or learning to overcome shyness, he said.
The U.S. Department
of Education lists a number of prevention programs that have demonstrated
efficacy in research studies and the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol
and Drug Information has compiled a guide, "Preventing Drug Use Among Children
and Adolescents: A Research-Based Guide for the Community" that provides
useful information for both parents and teachers.
Botvin said
more information also is available from both the American Medical Association
and the American Psychological Association, as well as from his Web site
lifeskillstraining.com.
--
Copyright 2003 by United
Press International.
All rights reserved.
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