It’s that time of year (again)
Every Fall, as we draw nearer to the winter break, I hear from parents and school staff that the children and students are getting “Fall fever”.
This may be true for some, but for disabled and neurodivergent students, it’s likely something a bit more serious. Spending 30 hours per week in a public school system that often doesn’t meet their needs — surrounded by peers who also don’t understand them — is exhausting.
For students who mask, hiding their struggles in attempts to fit in and avoid getting in trouble at school, the consequences are often internal. Camouflaging or suppressing our needs for the benefit of others is not sustainable and leads to fatigue, anxiety, and burnout.
For kids who have been attending full time since September (and I’m sure for the staff as well), the winter break can’t come soon enough.
After two months of holding it all in, working twice as hard as their peers to meet the school’s over-generalized (and neuronormative) expectations, something’s got to give.
Not to mention the sensory overload related to attending school: hot, loud bus rides; loud, crowded hallways, classrooms, and lunch rooms; flickering fluorescent lights; uncomfortable chairs, among many others.
Burnout can show up in many different ways, especially in children, who won’t have the neurological maturity or the language to understand or express what they are experiencing.
Signs of student burnout
It’s important to remember this list is not exhaustive, and the signs of possible burnout will be different for each person.
Some of the possible signs are:
Disengagement, apathy
Difficulty focusing or concentrating
Frequently late (when they weren’t previously)
Becoming sick more often (or needing more sick days)
Shutting out family and/or friends, withdrawing
Increased irritability and negativity
Less interested in hobbies, sports, or other extra-curricular activities
Increased anxiety and avoidance
Exhaustion or fatigue
More resistance while getting ready for school in the mornings
Increased after-school restraint collapse, or challenging behaviours after school
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