School attendance data were obtained by parent report as
well as directly from school records to ensure that the
information was reliable and accurate. Information about
the reasons for each school absence was not available and
all school absences were counted (including days that may
have been missed for doctor’s visits or for reasons unrelated
to JPFS symptoms). Late starts (tardy days) were not
counted unless they were denoted as a ‘‘half-day absence’’
on school reports. Average number of school days missed
per month was calculated by dividing the total number of
days missed since the first day of school by the number of
months the child had been in school for the academic year.
School attendance records were obtained directly from the
school by faxing a request along with a permission form
signed by the participant’s parent. Parents reported on the
type of schooling: regular school or homeschooled (defined
as full-time homeschooling, home-bound, or internetbased
home program) and reason for homeschooling.
Although we recognize that the category of ‘‘homeschooling’’
combines several types of options, all preclude
attendance in regular school with its associated expectations
of consistent attendance, sitting in class for long
periods, and daily interaction with teachers and peers.
The rationale for combining homeschooling options is
that—aside from academic expectations, successful navigation
of the demands and expectations in regular school is
an important developmental activity for school-age children
and adolescents, which is missing for those who are
not in the regular school environment. Of note, children
were aware that their attendance information was being
gathered from their school and parents. However, in this
study, information was gathered for the months prior to
their study enrollment and therefore school absenteeism
rates were not affected by their knowledge that attendance
data would be examined.