I have a student, who comes from a not-so-great home. They are constantly sleeping in class. The student claims that they just can't fall asleep. The parent claims the student is up all night on their phone and playing games. However, I've been told by a psychologist who has built years of rapport with the student that this isn't really the case. I don't think the student has narcolepsy, but watching the student sleep from 8:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon without moving is incredibly concerning. I have messaged the parent a few times and even had them come pick their child up to take home. I don't think this student is getting any support at home. How can I support him at school? The student is only passing 2 of their classes. They are incredibly smart and I know they can do it.
Welcome, kendyllgull,
This sounds like such a difficult situation. The one positive thing in all this is that it sounds like the student is still regularly attending school, though they're not succeeding in the academics.
Does the student seem to like being at school?
Is there an attempt to avoid school or attendance concerns?
Does the student have friends and socialize "normally" for their age?
Is the student's rapport with teachers good?
If the root issue is lack of sleep, or the most significant and pressing problem, is there any way to press the parents to take more action with this? Perhaps a meeting with the parents, school administrator, and school counselor/social worker to set up a simple behavior plan might get a little traction?
If parents are still not responsive, perhaps if there is a staff person the student has a more strong rapport with, that staff person could help the student download some brown noise, rain storm, running water, etc, MP3's onto the students phone to listen to when they lay down to go to bed. The staff person could also get the student either some headphones or a small bluetooth speaker to listen to it with.
You know how when someone gives you something unexpected that's kind of curious you feel compelled to want to try it out? Maybe you might be able to spark a little self motivation on the student's part to want to try this out by trying to go to sleep at home more normally. It's a super long shot, but...
What about the psychologist you spoke about? Do they have any suggestions or courses of action you might be able to take? Does the psychologist know what exactly the root of the student's lack of sleep is? If they know an exact root, that would help focus an intervention or course of action more.
