School anxiety and harm
- sallycrussell
- Oct 9
- 3 min read
Emmie Fisher, Keren MacLennan, Sinead Mullally, Jacqui Rodgers and Effy Tzemou
This article in the journal 'Neurodiversity' reports on a new research study that looked at why so many Neurodivergent children in the UK are experiencing severe anxiety and can't attend school. Although not directly concerned with FII, it illustrates one aspect of the development of the 'blame culture'.
The study is based on conversations with 31 people who have direct experience with school anxiety, including Neurodivergent children, Neurodivergent adults, parents, and school professionals.
The main finding is that the rising anxiety and non-attendance among Neurodivergent students are not signs of individual weakness, but are rational responses to a system that is fundamentally harmful and inaccessible to them.
The Core Problem: A System Built for "Normal"
The researchers used the idea of neuro-normative epistemic injustice to frame their work. In simple terms, this means:
The System Only Values One Way of Being: Schools are designed around "Neurotypical" (non-Neurodivergent) ways of thinking, learning, and behaving (neuro-normativity).
Different Ways of Knowing Are Dismissed: The experiences and needs of Neurodivergent individuals are structurally excluded, meaning the system lacks the knowledge or language to support or value them (epistemic injustice).
Key Findings from the Interviews
The participants described a system that creates distress at every level:
1. The Inaccessible School System (The Macro-Level)
Schools as "Training Grounds": Many participants felt schools were not focused on learning or wellbeing, but on preparing students for the neuro-normative, capitalist workforce. They prioritize compliance, standardized success, and rigid productivity.
Rigidity Over Flexibility: Policies (like the demand for full-time attendance) and government-imposed academic standards narrowly define success. This makes it impossible for schools to adapt to diverse needs, causing children to develop performance anxiety about falling behind.
A "Relentless Network" of Anxiety: The environmental stressors (sensory overload, punitive policies) are not isolated problems; they are part of a continuous, interconnected network of anxiety-inducing pressures created by this rigid system.
2. The Constrained System (Support is Gatekept)
Crisis Before Support: Help and accommodations are extremely difficult to access and are gatekept (held back) until a child is already in crisis or has secured a formal diagnosis, like an Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP).
Blame is Fostered: This lack of resources and inflexible policies leaves both parents and educators feeling constrained and stressed, which often leads to mutual blame between stakeholders.
3. Internalized Rejection
Unsafe Authenticity: The system legitimizes negative attitudes from both peers and teachers because it enforces narrow social expectations.
Penalized Distress: Natural distress responses, such as meltdowns and shutdowns, are often misunderstood, treated as misbehavior, and penalized, compounding the child's trauma and anxiety.
4. Withdrawal as Survival
Catastrophic Cost of Masking: Because authenticity is unsafe, students try to hide their Neurodivergent traits (known as camouflaging or masking). This draining effort leads to illness, trauma, and catastrophic mental health consequences.
Non-Attendance is Self-Preservation: The children's distress and withdrawal from school are therefore not a "refusal" but a necessary act of self-preservation from a harmful environment.
Conclusion: The Call for Change
The study concludes that to make meaningful change, the education system needs a cultural and systemic transformation. The focus must shift away from trying to "fix" the children and move toward adapting the policies and practices—the policy and pedagogy—to include and value the perspectives and knowledge of Neurodivergent individuals.
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