Differential diagnosis

Truancy is the wilful avoidance of school without parental knowledge and is less likely to present in primary care. In contrast, the whereabouts of school refusers’ whereabouts are usually known to parents. Some children have features of both these conditions.

A third possibility is that parents might wilfully keep their child away from school for reasons of their own. Genuine illness such as asthma or migraine may be combined with a school refusal picture. This can be due to the main caregiver having a specific reason to be anxious, such as having had a relative who died from asthma, or from a brain tumour.

Last edited: 5/2/2004

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