title: [School refusal].
abstract: Pediatrician are often questioned by school refusal which relies on a wide range of psychopathological features and necessitates specific approaches. This disabling condition remains underestimated and is still increasing. A poor prognosis associated with a prolonged school absence is the common hallmark of school refusals, regardless of its heterogeneity. Its seriousness warrants early identification and prompt intervention by childhood healthcare professionals, teachers and social workers. A specialized treatment is needed, closely linked with families and school. Promising developments come from a functional rather than symptomatic concept of school refusal. They offer tailored interventions which fit the clinical diversity of school refusals. After a brief historical summary and current definitions of school refusal, the authors review the main clinical features and comorbidity before taking up treatment modalities.
authors.affiliation: Service universitaire de psychiatrie de l'enfant et adolescent, centre thérapeutique de jour pour adolescents, 48, avenue de Beaumont 48, 1012 Lausanne, Suisse. laurent.holzer@chuv.ch
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Holzer
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Halfon
mesh_terms: D001010:Anxiety, Separation / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*