Managing and preventing burnout whilst remaining successful in school

Background

This guide has been produced by The Communication and Interaction Team, The Well-being Team, Educational Psychology, Attendance Improvement Team, CAMHs and the school nursing team. Its aim is to support schools and parents in helping their children to maintain their well-being whilst being successful in school.

Whilst research into ‘Burnout’ remains limited, experience suggests that children with Communication and Interaction Needs may be more prone to difficulties in this area. These difficulties may be linked to developmental differences inherent in Autism. These include, social interaction difficulties, difficulties processing sensory information and cognitive differences (e.g., potential inflexible thinking patterns). These developmental differences may lead to difficulties in school, although they may not always be apparent.

What are the key indicators – usually developed over a sustained period?

• Are they struggling to get up in the mornings and follow established personal care routines?
• Are they having difficulty sleeping at night?
• Are they tired or sleeping during the day?
• Are they reluctant to leave the house or take part in activities they previously enjoyed?
• Are they communicating differently?
• Are they struggling to keep to a routine?
• Are they spending an excessive amount of time gaming/absorbed in one interest?
• Are they displaying any physical or emotional signs of distress?

Pupil voice

• It is important we capture the child’s views when identifying possible barriers. Maintaining and reviewing this regularly will help to support relationships and for the child to see progress can be made. Views can be sought through regular mentoring, utilising resources such a talking mat and scaling.
• It is important that parent and carer views are also captured, although it should be noted that these may be different from the pupil’s views.

How can we support?

• Don’t let routines go, including school, however tempting, having key anchor points throughout the day will increase predictability and reduce anxiety.
• Encourage them to be involved in planning for activities they enjoy. These activities should include ‘preparation time’ and rest time afterwards.
• Consider keeping enjoyable activities familiar i.e., watching the same favourite film is less demanding than watching a new film as this would involve processing new information.
• Consider developing an ‘energy accounting and management’ approach – ‘think of your child’s energy levels as being like a rechargeable battery’ (See Sheffield’s Childrens NHS link below – Energy Management)
• Reduce verbal demands and support with visuals where possible.
• Where possible identify and minimise sensory triggers. Aim to create a calm, organised structured environment both at home and school. In the school they are likely to require access to a calm and quiet room that be accessed for breaks during the day.
• Consider creating a ‘Demand Inventory’ in relation to home and school and consider any non-essential demands that can be dropped for a while.
• Maintain a healthy, structured sleep and rest routine. This will require clear boundaries regarding TV and gaming time. Whilst binge watching TV may feel restful, it is unlikely to be restorative and will not aid recovery.
• Self-knowledge is an essential tool as the child develops i.e., using techniques such as scaling to identify triggers and strategies to support. This can help prevent further episodes and develop critical life skills for community participation and the world of work.
• Rest; this can include adapted attendance as whilst being in school they can learn skills to manage energy levels. Try to avoid breaks in attendance as this can increase anxiety in the long term. See guidance from:

Emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) Virtual School Team (VST) – Guide for schools

A relational approach to emotionally based school non-attendance (EBSNA) – Support for schools and settings (devon.gov.uk)

(Whilst avoiding situations that cause anxiety brings short term relief, in the long-term avoidance leads to increased levels of anxiety. Avoidance also leads to issues such as falling behind with work and losing contact with friends which can also increase anxiety.

Understanding the anxiety and supporting your child to develop ways of coping will help to break the cycle.)

Resources to support which can be used at home and school:

• CAMHS: CAMHS – Children and Family Health (childrenandfamilyhealthdevon.nhs.uk)
• School nursing: https://www.devon.gov.uk/educationandfamilies/health/public-health-nursing-school-nursing/request-for-support/
• Introducing the Devon Mental Health Support Team in Schools (MHST) | Health for Kids | Devon
• Let’s talk about anxiety: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dknTQktH5Z0  This video would support children Y4 and upwards (including secondary pupils.)
• Energy management: Sheffield NHS Trust has a useful guide and resource. Energy accounting is a tool co-created by Dr Tony Attwood and Maja Toudal specifically for autistic people of all ages.
• The stress bucket: https://www.youngminds.org.uk/professional/resources/stress-bucket-activity/ Helpful for all ages.
• Scaling: ‘The Incredible Five Point Scale’ by Kari Dunn Buron and Mitzi Curtis
• Capturing pupil’s views: www.lancashire.gov.uk/ (Emotionally Based School Avoidance)
• Talking Mat: see download version for image.
• Physical Movement: Research has shown that there are significant benefits of exercise in reducing anxiety, depression. It can also improve self-esteem and academic performance (Strong et al., 2005)
• Diet: Eating regularly and keeping your blood sugar stable can make a difference to your mood and energy levels.
• Reducing avoidance: People often get into the habit of avoiding situations that make them feel anxious. This can, unfortunately, make the problem worse. The longer you avoid something, the more intimidating it becomes. Also, if you always avoid situations that cause anxiety, it’s harder to prove to yourself that you can manage them – as a result, you may lose confidence. If you can confront situations that make you feel anxious, you’ll build up confidence. Over time, this will reduce the anxiety symptoms. NHS Inform:  Anxiety self-help guide | NHS inform
• Normal Magic: Normal Magic | A service dedicated to mentally healthy living for all.
• An example of a graduated home-school demand inventory record:
  Graduated School Outreach
  Aims:  
  • To re-establish a connection between a trusted adult in school and CYP
  • To communicate with CYP on two occasions per week whilst avoiding any perceived demands and expectations.

• Download a printable version of this guide