A growing number of children in Australia are struggling to attend school – many of us know a family affected.
These are children who want to go to school but feel like they can't because of anxiety and stress.
"It's honestly like a zoo. That's how crazy it is … I just couldn't cope." — Will, student
"There will be people saying, 'that woman just needs to tell her kids what's what'. Before it happened to me, I was one of those parents." — Symone, parent
Four Corners follows families battling the blame, shame and fear of missing out on education — and visits some of the schools doing things differently.
Early warning signs: Kindergarten through fourth grade
Slow to learn the connection between letters and sounds
Confuses basic words (run,eat,want)
Makes consistent reading and spelling errors including letter reversals (b/d), inversions (m/w), transpositions (felt/left), and substitutions (house/home)
Transposes number sequences and confuses arithmetic signs (+, -, x, /, =)
Slow recall of facts
Slow to learn new skills, relies heavily on memorization
Impulsiveness, lack of planning
Unstable pencil grip
Trouble learning about time
Poor coordination, unaware of physical surroundings, prone to accidents
