The School Can't Experience

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.
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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,...

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

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,...