About this course

Learning Objectives

• Explain basics of SPACE treatment
• Identify common misconceptions about school refusal
• Identify impact of school refusal
• Describe role of parents in treatment of school refusal
• Describe 6 steps for parents to address school refusal

Learning Levels

• Beginner

Target Audience

Course Instructor(s)

• 

  Amy Killy, LCSW

  Amy Killy, LCSW, is one of the first therapists in the United States to complete the comprehensive year-long SPACE Certification Course. She has been receiving biweekly consultation since 2021 with Dr. Eli Lebowitz, founder of SPACE, and serves on the team at Yale Child Study Center that provides consultation and supervision for SPACE and SPACE Certification. With additional training in SPACE for ARFID, Failure to Launch, and School Refusal, Amy has successfully treated over 200 families using the SPACE model. In her role as Director of Clinical Programming at Weaver and Associates, Amy provides consultation to parents and mental health providers worldwide, while also collaborating with local school districts and independent schools. Having worked in the DC metropolitan area as a mental health professional for more than 25 years, Amy consistently demonstrates her commitment to supporting families and advancing therapeutic practices.

References

• Attendance Works. (2017). The Problem - Attendance Works. Attendance Works. https://www.attendanceworks.org/chronic-absence/the-problem/
• Avoiding and Refusing to Go to School. (n.d.). Yale Medicine. https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/school-related-problems
• Bastian, K. C., Sarah Crittenden Fuller, & Swiderski, T. (2024, September 9). Student-level attendance patterns show depth, breadth, and persistence of post-pandemic absenteeism. Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/student-level-attendance-patterns-show-depth-breadth-and-persistence-of-post-pandemic-absenteeism/
• Chronic Absenteeism and Disrupted Learning Require an All-Hands-on-Deck Approach | CEA. (2023, September 13). The White House. https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/09/13/chronic-absenteeism-and-disrupted-learning-require-an-all-hands-on-deck-approach/#_ftn1
• Kearney, C. A., Lemos, A., & Silverman, J. (2004). The functional assessment of school refusal behavior. The Behavior Analyst Today, 5(3), 275–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0100040
• Kearney, M. (2022, September 22). What to do, and not do, when your child won’t go to school. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/parenting/2022/09/22/school-avoidance-refusal-tips/
• Lebowitz, E. (2021). Highly Dependent Adult Children (“Failure to Launch”). Context, 175, 14–16.
• Lebowitz, E. R., Marin, C., Martino, A., Shimshoni, Y., & Silverman, W. K. (2019). Parent-Based Treatment as Efficacious as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Childhood Anxiety: A Randomized Noninferiority Study of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(3). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2019.02.014
• Mervosh, S., & Paris, F. (2024, March 29). Why School Absences Have “Exploded” Almost Everywhere. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2024/03/29/us/chronic-absences.html
• School Avoidance Facts. (n.d.). School Avoidance Alliance. https://schoolavoidance.org/school-avoidance-facts/
• SPACE. (2021, June 17). Overcoming Entrenched School Refusal. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4x4NW1S_po
• Swiderski, T., Crittenden Fuller, S., & Bastian, K. (2024, May). The Persistence of Post-Pandemic Chronic Absenteeism. Education Policy Initiative at Carolina.