«When Colin was sent to the psychiatric ward, I cried»
Diana Vonarburg, 43, runs a forest playgroup and lives with her husband Michael, 42, a project manager, and their sons Colin, 14, and Jason, 12, in Frauenfeld TG. Colin spent many weeks hiding in his room because he no longer wanted to go to school. He is now at a boarding school and hopes to find a good apprenticeship when he finishes school.
Diana: "Colin enjoyed going to school until he was in year 5. Then suddenly he always had a stomach ache or headache on Tuesdays. I quickly realised that this wasn't true. But I didn't manage to motivate him to go on these days, so I excused him. That was a huge burden, because as a parent you realise that it's not right.
After discussions with the teachers, Colin went to a special school with small classes for two months, which was good for him. Then he moved to the sixth form. Although Colin had been looking forward to it, he soon only went by the hour and at some point closed down completely. He just stayed in his room, pulled the covers over his head and slept.
We only saw him for dinner. It was a terrible time. Then there were the neighbours who asked: What's going on? Where's Colin? He has to go to school! My husband and I just couldn't get hold of him any more. We still don't know what the reasons were, we can only speculate.
Now we're worried again about what will happen next year when he starts an apprenticeship and perhaps has to go to a big trade school.
Mother Diana
He is a small, fine boy. In his primary school class, everyone else was taller and stronger, which is perhaps why he was bullied. When he went to the big school with all the new classmates, Colin didn't cope well. I think it scared him. This went on for about five months. The school and we then had to make a report to the child and adult protection authority (Kesb).
A good solution
One day I got a call saying that Colin had to go to the psychiatric ward that same day because the school psychologist was worried that he was slipping. I just cried - after all, it was the acute ward, which is mainly for young people who want to take their own lives. Colin doesn't belong there, I thought.
There are good and bad moments, but I always try to look forward to the school day in the morning.
Colin, 14
But his stay there and the time afterwards in the paediatric psychiatric ward did him good. He is now at a boarding school with small classes during the week. He has developed very well there. And he's clever, schoolwork was never a problem. Now we're worried again about what will happen next year when he starts an apprenticeship and perhaps has to go to a big trade school. Will he be able to cope? Or is there another solution? We're currently looking into that."
Colin: «I wouldn't say that school scared me. I got off to a good start, had an understanding teacher and lots of colleagues who I often met up with. But then other teachers came along, there were disagreements, so I stopped going all the time and at some point stayed home completely. At that time, I lacked a structured daily routine. I now know that there are good and bad moments at school, but I always try to look forward to going to school in the morning. And I know that it's important to go so that I can find a good apprenticeship.»
