ABSTRACT
Mark is 15 years old. He wants to go to school but has not done so consistently for the past 2 years. According to his mother, he misses about 2 days of school per week, and on the other days, he is late about 50% of the time, sometimes not arriving until noon. Mark is oppositional and has been verbally abusive and physically intimidating toward his mother, but only when she tries to make him go to school. On some days, he describes feeling anxious and panicky. On other days, he reports being “just too tired.” When he stays home, he cannot watch television or play with his computer or video games. He is allowed to play with his hamsters and guinea pig, which Mark claims are more interesting than the privileges that are taken away. The situation has become so severe that Mark’s mother has quit her job to be home with him.
