Browsing by Author "Borgström, Annika"

The aim of this study is to give a more nuanced understanding about neuroatypical youth and possible challenges attending school. There is little knowledge about the school situation and SAPs for neuropsychiatric conditions, and few empirical studies on the additive effects of holding several neuropsychiatric diagnoses, or a diagnosis in combination with other symptoms (e.g. anxiety, depression). The bio-ecological and multi-level framework of factors linked to school absence, which is an application of Bronfenbrenner´s bioecological systems model, has been used in this study. The SAPs are classified according to types: school refusal, truancy, school exclusion and school withdrawal. The cutoff for when the SAP is problematic is different in different countries. In this study we used, the commonly used measure, missing over 10 % of school classes for persistent absence. Guardians of 789 youth (mean age 12 years, 68% boys) with neuropsychiatric challenges reported school non-attendance and reasons for this (the School Non-Attendance ChecKlist SNACK) through an online survey. Most of the children in the sample had multiple diagnosis (45 %, N=356). The groups with only one diagnosis were the ADHD 32% (N=228), Autism 11 % (N=81), Sensory hypersensitivity 2% (N=15) and Tourette .6% (N=5). During the measurement period the youth on average missed 4 school days. 82 % of the sample had current or prior SAP and the problems were for most of the youth onset before 7th grade. Persistent absence (over 10 % absence) occurred in 42.8 % of the sample. The most common reason for absence was non-problematic absenteeism (46%). School refusal was the most common of the four non-attendance types (36 %). Truancy (3%) was not likely for this group of students. SAPs were most likely for youth with ASD and multiple diagnosis. Overall, the situation for students with more than one neuropsychiatric diagnosis was most challenging with most individuals suffering from anxiety and/or depression, sleeping difficulties, learning disability and behavioral difficulties. The relationships in school with teachers and peers were often challenging. The situation was most worrying for the autistic and multiple diagnosis groups, these youth more often than the other groups are lacking friends. More than half of the group had now or before been bullied in school or during free time. Findings suggested that the school situation for neuroatypical youth is challenging.