The School Can't Experience

Rachel, a parent from southern Tasmania, joins host Leisa Reichelt to share her lived experience supporting her son, now in Year 11 and engaged with school, through what has been anything but a straightforward journey.

Rachel's son is autistic with PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance, or Pervasive Demand for Autonomy), ADHD, dyslexia, dysgraphia and a high IQ. That combination created enormous challenges in settings that weren't designed to accommodate his needs. But also enormous possibilities when the right supports were finally in place.

Rachel walks us through the early warning signs from daycare onwards, a primary school experience marked by suspensions, bullying and the gradual removal of the very accommodations that were keeping her son engaged/ Then the 19-month battle to get him into a school better suited to his needs, which was ultimately resolved in eight days once an advocate got involved.

She shares the specific, practical accommodations that have made the difference: running when overwhelmed, frozen peas and corn for sensory regulation, a safe space during substitute teacher lessons, dropping subjects that created knock-on dysregulation, and a highly modified timetable built around his strengths. She also talks about the role of a positive behaviour support practitioner in shifting the whole school culture, and why that kind of whole-school investment pays off for every student.

Rachel also shares her perspective on what's at stake with the proposed NDIS reforms, and points to resources for families who want to stay informed and take action.

Relevant resources:

• The Growing Space (NDIS information and advocacy) - https://www.thegrowingspace.com.au/
• Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) - https://www.dpacaustralia.net/
• Australian Neurodivergent Parents Association (ANPA) - https://www.thisisanpa.org/
• Regional Autistic Engagement Network Tasmania - https://www.raentasmania.com.au/
• Association for Children with Disability (national, state branches) - https://acd.org.au/

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Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Consulting nurse Laura Hellfeld joins host Leisa Reichelt to explore one of the least-talked-about challenges facing School Can't families - hygiene and self-care.

When young people are in burnout, the capacity for everyday self-care tasks like showering, brushing teeth and eating can quietly disappear, often leaving parents feeling confused, worried, and like they're somehow failing.

Laura explains why this happens, drawing on nervous system science, interoception, sensory processing and the body's response to trauma and chronic stress. She offers a compassionate, practical framework for understanding what's really going on and how to respond.

This episode covers why declining self-care is a signal worth paying attention to (not a behaviour problem to push through), why centering the person rather than the task makes all the difference, and how joy, self-expression and identity can be unexpected but powerful pathways back to body connection and care.

Laura also shares her perspective on burnout as a medical condition, the unrecognised physical health needs that often sit underneath it, and why protecting your relationship with your young person is the most important thing you can do right now.

If this podcast or the School Can't Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help.  https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

Resources & support

Laura’s Resources:

•  Laura’s Resources and Newsletter on Substack - https://laurahellfeld.substack.com/
• ND Nurse Consulting Webpage - https://laurahellfeld.co.uk/
• Laura on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hellfeld-nd-nurse-consulting/
• Laura on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/LauratheNeurodivergentNurse
• Book - Flush Forward!: A Friendly Toileting Guide for Parents Supporting Disabled and Neurodivergent Young People - https://www.amazon.com.au/Flush-Forward-Toileting-Supporting-Neurodivergent/dp/1399830864
• Book- Creating Safe Spaces for Autistic People - https://www.amazon.com.au/Colour-Reduced-Version-Creating-Autistic/dp/B0D12TZ8M3
• Book - Gabby’s Glimmers : An Affirming Story of an Autistic Child and their Favourite Food - https://www.amazon.com.au/Gabbys-Glimmers-Alice-McSweeney/dp/1399997858

Mentioned in the episode:

• Katie Munday - https://autisticltd.co.uk/
• Autistic Burnout Network Conference, June 5-6 2026 - https://www.autisticadvocate.co.uk/autistic-burnout-conference
• Book: How to keep house while drowning, KC Davis - https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B09QMRTK1C/
• Book: The Autism Friendly Guide to Periods, Robyn Steward  - https://www.amazon.com.au/Autism-Friendly-Guide-Periods-Robyn-Steward/dp/1785923242
• Book: The growing up book - An Inclusive Guide to Puberty and Your Changing Body - Rachel Greener and Clare Owen - https://www.amazon.com.au/Growing-Up-Inclusive-Puberty-Changing/dp/1839947004/
• Book: The Everybody Book of Consent - An LGBTQIA-Inclusive Guide to Respecting Boundaries, Bodies, and Beyond by Rachel E. Simon, https://www.amazon.com.au/Every-Body-Book-Consent-LGBTQIA-Inclusive/dp/1839976837/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Corinne Smith describes herself as a "reluctant homeschooler". Someone who never planned to be home educating, but who found herself there after her child experienced School Can't from preschool onwards, through multiple school settings, including Montessori.

Rather than retreat, Corinne founded KinHub,  a registered charity in Sydney's Inner West. Kinhub is a a community built specifically for kids who don't fit into mainstream school and the families who are holding it all together alongside them. In this episode, Corinne shares:

• What School Can't looked like for her family, from difficult goodbyes at preschool to being carried through the school gate
• The role PDA played in their journey through mainstream and Montessori settings
• How they approached deschooling and why she thinks it matters more for parents than for kids
• The financial realities of stepping back from work to homeschool, and supports that may be available
• What KinHub actually looks like — and why it's built the way it is
• The Unseen, Unheard, Unstoppable art exhibition that gave 35 kids a public voice

This one will resonate with families who are weighing up homeschooling and feel like they're about to lose everything that came with school. And it will inspire anyone who has wondered whether they could do something useful with a very hard situation.

About Corinne and KinHub

• Email Corinne: [email protected]
• KinHub website: kinhub.org.au
• KinHub on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KinHubAu/
• KinHub Art Exhibition in the News: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-20/sydney-school-cant-children-exibit-artwork-part-of-kinhub-scheme/106576750

Government Benefits for Home Education and Distance Education

• Assistance for Isolated Children Payment (NSW) - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/assistance-for-isolated-children-scheme
• Jobseeker Payment, Exemptions for Principal Carers (Home Education and Distance Education) - https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/exemptions-from-mutual-obligation-requirements-for-principal-carers?context=60097#homeschooling

Challenging the Education Orthodoxy

• Video: Do schools kill creativity? (Sir Ken Robinson, TED talk) - https://youtu.be/iG9CE55wbtY
• John Taylor Gatto, (Book) Weapons of Mass Instruction https://www.amazon.com.au/Weapons-Mass-Instruction-Schoolteachers-Compulsory/dp/0865716692
• John Taylor Gatto, (Book) Dumbing Us Down https://www.amazon.com.au/Dumbing-Down-Curriculum-Compulsory-Schooling/dp/0865718547/
• Sir Ken Robinson and Lou Aronica (Book) Creative Schools: The Grassroots Revolution That's Transforming Education https://www.amazon.com.au/Creative-Schools-Grassroots-Revolution-Transforming/dp/0143108069 

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Judith came across School Can't Australia on the internet and suddenly, something that had puzzled her for over sixty years finally had a name.

Now 66, Judith grew up missing roughly half her schooling. Nobody called it School Can't. Nobody really knew what to do. And for most of her adult life, she'd assumed her experience was unique until she stumbled across the School Can't community and realised how familiar her story would sound to families navigating this today.

In this episode, Judith looks back on her experience with the perspective only six decades can bring, and shares:

• The early signs and how they compounded into a pattern nobody had the language to explain
• Why the conversations that might have helped never happened 
• What she now believes she actually needed, and how different it looks from simply being made to attend school
• What happened to her education, her career, and her life and why it turned out better than anyone might have predicted

Judith's story is a reminder that School Can't is not new and that the cost of misunderstanding it has always been real. It's also, ultimately, a hopeful one.

This one is for families in the middle of it who need to hear that life on the other side is possible. And for educators and health professionals who want to understand what it looks like from the inside, across a whole lifetime.

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

We've just passed 50 episodes of The School Can't Experience — and many of those have been lived experience episodes: families coming on to tell us what School Can't has actually been like for them in real life.

In going back through all of those episodes to prepare this one, something became very clear. Different families, different states, different children, different journeys — but so many of the same themes appearing again and again

Episodes mentioned — listen to the full stories

• Ep 7 — Emma G's Lived Experience
• Ep 9 — Jennie's Lived Experience
• Ep 10 — Marissa's Lived Experience Pt 1
• Ep 11 — Marissa's Lived Experience Pt 2
• Ep 18 — Mark's Lived Experience
• Ep 23 — Eliza Fricker's Lived Experience
• Ep 24 — Jane's Lived Experience
• Ep 25 — Nicola's Lived Experience
• Ep 26 — Kate & Daniel's Lived Experience
• Ep 27 — Diana's Lived Experience
• Ep 30 — Simone & Yani's Lived Experience
• Ep 43 — Wendy's Lived Experience
• Ep 48 — Rachel's Lived Experience

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Play and filial therapist Dr. Kate Renshaw joins host Leisa Reichelt to explore how play therapy can support children and families experiencing School Can’t, especially when kids struggle with traditional talk-based therapies. 

Kate describes why play therapy is developmentally sensitive and how the family-based approach, filial therapy can be powerful for both parent and child. She discusses creating consistent, relationally safe support across home and school. 

This episode also explores Kate’s evidence-based Teacher’s Optimal Relationship Approach (TORA), designed to help teachers use play-therapy-informed relational skills in everyday classroom interactions. Kate highlights research showing the student–teacher relationship is a key predictor of school attendance. They discuss practical ways families can “lean into play,” including joining children in their interests and screen-based play.

Relevant resources;

• Play and Filial Therapy (Kate’s practice) -https://www.playandfilialtherapy.com/
  
• Kate on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dr.katerenshaw/
• Kate on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/p/Play-Filial-Therapy-100057567515430/
• Kate on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-play
• Australasia Pacific Play Therapy Association (Find a Therapist) - https://appta.org.au/
• 62% of Children reporting maltreatment: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-03/major-child-maltreatment-report-findings/102160726
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs): Summary of evidence and impacts - https://emergingminds.com.au/resources/adverse-childhood-experiences-aces-summary-of-evidence-and-impacts/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

In this week’s episode, Sydney mum, Jodie, shares her lived experience of School Can’t with host Leisa Reichelt.  Jodie’s teenage daughter experienced a sudden mental health and School Can’t crisis after a house move in February 2025, following earlier anxiety, social struggles and bullying.

As her daughter became severely dysregulated, ran away, and experienced suicidal ideation, Jodie describes intense pressure from school and clinicians to force attendance and make home “less comfortable,” which she felt escalated distress.

After months and emergency callouts, she pulled her daughter out of school and registered with international online program Crimson Global Academy (CGA) for routine and support while prioritising safety, nervous system reset, connection, travel, and a return to dance.

Over time her daughter rebuilt capacity, chose to return to in-person schooling, was offered a place at a new school, and is now happier.

Jodie urges parents and professionals to trust signals, listen deeply, and consider unconventional pathways.

Relevant resources;
- Crimson Global Academy: https://www.crimsonglobalacademy.school/au/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Dr Billy Garvey joins us on the School Can’t Experience Podcast to discuss why it shouldn’t be considered normal for children to struggle at school, and how the education system often fails to meet kids’ emotional and developmental needs. 

Together with host Leisa Reichelt, they explore early intervention and trusting parental instincts, the harms of dismissing distress as “just a phase,” and why trauma and bullying don’t build resilience. 

Billy emphasises agency and autonomy, relationship-based school re-entry, and the value of listening to a child’s lived experience—especially for neurodivergent kids. 

He explains co-regulation as starting with adult self-regulation, using calm proximity, validation, and repeated connection (often through play or shared interests like gaming). 

The conversation also covers parental stress, dads and disciplinary patterns, and Billy’s hope that better mental health training and support for educators can transform schools into true community sanctuaries.

More resources from Dr Billy Garvey:

• Pop Culture Parenting podcast: https://www.popcultureparenting.com/
• Growing Minds (a social enterprise dedicated to changing the future of our kids): https://www.guidinggrowingminds.com/
• 10 Things I Wish You Knew About Your Childs Mental Health (Book): https://www.penguin.com.au/books/ten-things-i-wish-you-knew-about-your-childs-mental-health-9781761345838

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

Lucette, a mum of two neurodivergent girls, education advocate and author, speaks with our host, Leisa Reichelt about a School Can’t journey that began as “Daycare Can’t” and “Kinder Can’t.” Lucette describes years of difficult drop-offs, restraint collapse, and escalating distress—including absconding and family crisis—before her eldest child, ‘Big A’, was identified as autistic and ADHD with high sensory needs, and the family began using more PDA-aligned, low-demand communication. 

Despite extensive home-provided supports and an early advocacy consult to understand school rights and adjustments, a change of teacher in Grade 1 coincided with worsening experiences and a missed school meeting, prompting a rapid school move. 

A a small mainstream school with strong leadership, staff training, and full-time classroom aides, eventually made a huge difference. 

Lucette emphasizes trusting your gut, bringing advocates or support people to meetings, knowing your rights, and she shares her children’s book about emotions and regulation, “When I’m Excited, I fart Glitter”.

People & resources mentioned in this episode:

• Autism Goals - https://www.autismgoals.com.au/
• Lucette’s book: When I’m Excited, I Fart Glitter - https://www.instagram.com/lmc.writes/

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...

This week we welcome Laura, a nurse and mum of three in Victoria, to share her family’s experience supporting her 15-year-old daughter, Mimi, through ongoing School Can’t. 

Laura describes Mimi’s early anxiety, neurodivergence, and how returning to school after COVID intensified distress, leading to escalating attendance struggles in high school, especially without close friendships and with limited school wellbeing capacity. 

She explains the daily realities of getting out the door, the impact on work and family relationships, and the personal parenting work required to shift away from “just make them go” approaches. 

Practical school-based supports (trusted staff members meeting Mimi on arrival) and the Hands-on Learning program, where Mimi’s engagement and attendance are consistently high, demonstrate how changing the environment can transform the accessibility of education.

People & resources mentioned in this episode:

• Hands On Learning - https://handsonlearning.org.au

Send us Fan Mail

Support the show

School Can’t Australia Facebook Community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolphobiaschoolrefusalaustralia

If this podcast or the School Can’t Australia community has helped you, please consider making a donation or volunteering to help. Find out more here: https://www.schoolcantaustralia.com.au/get-involved#donate

If this episode helped you please take a moment to subscribe, rate, or review the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts. It genuinely helps other School Can't families find us.

If you are a parent of carer in Australia and experiencing distress, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or contact the Parent Help Line. - https://kidshelpline.com.au/parents/issues/how-parentline-can-help-you

You can contact us to volunteer to share your School Can't story or some feedback via email on [email protected]

Disclaimer
The content of this podcast is based on personal lived experiences and is shared for informational and storytelling purposes only. It should not be treated as medical, psychological, or professional advice under any circumstances. If you have concerns about your health or well-being, please seek guidance from a doctor, therapist,...