You can advocate more effectively for your child if you understand more about school phobia and other emotional conditions that interfere with schooling. Children with these illness usually have cognitive problems that are difficult for psychologists and other professionals to assess, but which may greatly interfere with their ability to learn. Often schools are unable to accept that these problems are real, or that they are not the result of low intelliegence or poor motivation. Providing accommodations for chronically ill children is expensive for schools. As a result, they often try to avoid giving the child as much help as is needed.
Schools have their own problems, and do often have very tight budgets.
Nevertheless, their obligation is to provide an appropriate education for all children, regardless of handicap, and parents should be very insistent that they do what they should. The following files may be helpful for parents struggling with these kinds of problems. An extensive site on legal rights and how to advocate for your sick child is Educating YPWCs and Others . Disabled student access to education explains the laws which guarantee a free and appropriate education for disabled students. A School's Guide to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome is written with chronic fatigue in mind but contains information which may be helpful to parents of children with other kinds of problems.