“I really saw him become more apathetic and gradually sink into disillusionment, demotivation.” Sophie’s words sound like a call for help. This mother from the province of Namur contacted us via the orange Alert us button to discuss the delicate phase that her son is going through. Arnaud, 18, is in the middle of school dropout. “He was diagnosed with depression. Asking him to get up every morning, to spend 8 hours at school sitting on a chair, it’s impossible today”, explains Sophie in despair. As a result, he abandoned his rheto.
According to her, the Covid crisis has accentuated the malaise of her son who then found himself in lack of bearings. A sensation confirmed by recent figures which show that the phenomenon of school dropout is on the increase in our country. “It is a disaster. He was coming so close to the goal. All the project after, studies, progress in life… what do we do at that time?
diagnosis time
One of the avenues favored by the school system is to turn to a PMS center (Psycho-medico-social). These structures have been extremely busy lately: more than 30% in a year for these centers which do not only deal with school dropouts. Virginie Dreze is the director of the free PMS center in Braine l’Alleud. She tells us more about the care of young people who have dropped out of school: “We are going to make a diagnosis. What makes the child go to school more? Each time, the diagnosis will help us direct the young person to services other than ours. Sometimes we go refer them to AMO (Open Environment Aid), to mental health services, a psychologist or a child psychiatrist sometimes.
Maurice Johnson-Kanyonga is precisely a psychologist. He specializes in children, adolescents and young adults. He is used to working with young school dropouts: “Even if the school takes an important part in life, it fits in and completes more global projects”, does it put into perspective. The psychologist talks about the warning signs in young people: “It is first of all a weariness. It’s a gradual stall. A stoppage in school work, a lack of investment in schooling.“Signs which can also result in repeated absences or delays. The psychologist advises the evocation of the most important projects with the young person affected, his very dreams. With this process, the connection is not lost.
The ball in the stomach
The PMS centers also work closely with social support services. This is the case of “Promo Jeunes”, in Brussels. The non-profit organization offers the possibility of taking part in a wide range of activities for those under 31. We find there Brice, a social worker. He is about to welcome Walid. Like Arnaud, Walid is in the middle of dropping out of school. The young man from Brussels arrives at the end of his career with the association and proceeds to an assessment with Brice. “The Covid has destroyed me enormously. We must not say to ourselves that a young person, once he has dropped out of school, is good. That for him everything is fine, he does nothing. No way. Me, during my school dropout, I was not at all well. I had a lump in my stomach because I wasn’t going to school.”
The most important thing for the young person is to find his way
His time at “Promo Jeunes” allowed Walid to find his way. Its future is computers. “At the time, I was not proud of myself. While there I am”, he says not without concealing a broad smile. Brice, the one who accompanied Walid, salutes his journey: “It’s nice to see young people develop, find their way and resume training that will lead them to adult life.”
For this actor in the field, it is above all necessary to listen to young people who have dropped out of school: “You shouldn’t put on blinders and try to listen to the whole story of the young person. His expectations, his desires. The most important thing for the young person is to find his way and to have the impression that a nobody listens to him. You have to be able to support parents in difficulty.”