Navigate School Can't without burning out.
When school stops working for your child, most parents feel completely lost. Do I keep pushing? Do I give in? What does that even look like?
Get the exact blueprint and support system we use to help parents navigate their way through School Can't.
Get the exact blueprint and support system we use to help parents navigate their way through School Can't.
100% happiness guarantee
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Write your awesome label here.
Green Cardigan can help:
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If your child experiences intense distress, anxiety, shutdowns, or physical symptoms around school.
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Attendance has become inconsistent, impossible, or is only happening at great emotional cost.
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You’ve tried rewards, consequences, encouragement, reasoning, and nothing has worked.
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You feel stuck between school expectations and your child’s wellbeing.
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You are exhausted, worried about the future, and questioning your decisions.
Sometimes as parents we don't need all the answers; we just need to know that we aren't making things worse.
Choose your support
One-off Coaching Call
$160
1:1 support to help you get onto your right path faster. Or feel more confident about the road ahead of you.
One-off clarity session with a neuro-affirming, trauma-informed counsellor, who understands School Can't and can help you formulate a plan.
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45-minute call/zoom
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Experienced School Can't Counsellor
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Appointment within the week
Group Support & Community
$39pw
Billed fortnightly.
Meet with other parents and our experienced counsellors twice a week. Get the guidance and support you need to get on track and stay on track. No more figuring this out alone!
Here for as long as you need us. Just cancel when you don't.
Meet with other parents and our experienced counsellors twice a week. Get the guidance and support you need to get on track and stay on track. No more figuring this out alone!
Here for as long as you need us. Just cancel when you don't.
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2 x 60-min online sessions per week
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Expert guidance for less than $20 per session
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No lock-in contracts.
Navigating School Can't Framework
$297
Self-paced program designed to reduce overwhelm and support informed, compassionate decision‑making. Everything we wish we had know on our school can't journeys.
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7 core modules to get you on track
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10 optional topics - choose what fits
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18 downloads to help you take action
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12-month easy online access
Who's guiding me through?
Sophie has more than 20 years of experience navigating the school system as a parent advocate and qualified counsellor. As an AuDHD parent who has raised three neurodivergent/special needs children into adulthood, Sophie brings both professional expertise and lived experience to her work.
Sophie Cole
Registered counsellor & psychotherapist (Level 3). Bel has extensive experience supporting parents and families through a wide range of emotional, behavioural and mental health challenges. Drawing from clinical psychotherapy such as attachment-focused therapy, somatic trauma therapy, and evidence-based relational approaches such as family systems therapy.
Bel Fin
A registered clinical counsellor, Sophie has a particular passion for supporting families navigating School Can’t, school distress and neurodivergence. A significant focus of Sophie's work is supporting parents and carers of children experiencing Emotional-Based School Avoidance (EBSA), often referred to as School Can’t.
Sophie Shannon
Frequently asked questions
Is this therapy?
No. This is an educational and decision-support program.
It does not replace therapy, medical advice, or allied health support.
However, many families use it alongside professional support to feel more informed and grounded in their decisions.
What if my child is completely refusing school?
This program is designed for families from early distress to full refusal.
We don’t assume attendance is immediately possible. Instead, we focus first on stabilisation, understanding capacity, and protecting connection.
For some families, that means gradual reintegration. For others, it means pausing and reassessing safely. The program helps you make those decisions thoughtfully rather than reactively.
We don’t assume attendance is immediately possible. Instead, we focus first on stabilisation, understanding capacity, and protecting connection.
For some families, that means gradual reintegration. For others, it means pausing and reassessing safely. The program helps you make those decisions thoughtfully rather than reactively.
Who is guiding me through? Are they qualified to help me?
Group support and one-on-one coaching is facilitated by Sophie Cole, a lived-experience counsellor with nearly two decades of professional experience supporting families navigating school refusal and school distress.
Sophie brings both clinical training and personal insight into the realities of School Can’t, having navigated school challenges with all three of her (now adult) children.
Her approach is grounded in nervous-system-informed principles, trauma-aware practice, and neuro-affirming frameworks.
Although we are all about creating a strong parent-led community, group sessions are professionally facilitated, structured, and intentionally contained to protect psychological safety.
Sophie brings both clinical training and personal insight into the realities of School Can’t, having navigated school challenges with all three of her (now adult) children.
Her approach is grounded in nervous-system-informed principles, trauma-aware practice, and neuro-affirming frameworks.
Although we are all about creating a strong parent-led community, group sessions are professionally facilitated, structured, and intentionally contained to protect psychological safety.
Is the program evidence-based?
Yes, and it’s important to us that it is.
The Navigating School Can’t program is grounded in established research from developmental psychology, trauma-informed practice, attachment theory, and nervous system regulation.
It reflects what we know about how stress impacts learning, behaviour, and capacity, and why pressure often makes school distress worse.
The framework aligns with current research on:
We do not promote quick fixes or behaviour-based compliance strategies that ignore underlying capacity. Instead, we prioritise stabilisation, safety, and relational repair, because these are consistently shown to be protective factors for long-term wellbeing.
The program is also informed by lived experience. Many traditional models overlook the emotional reality families are navigating. We bridge research with real-world application so parents can make decisions that are both evidence-informed and practical.
If you’re looking for rigid attendance targets or behaviour management scripts, this won’t be the right fit.
If you’re looking for a framework that respects nervous system capacity, protects connection, and supports thoughtful decision-making, this approach is grounded, considered, and aligned with current evidence.
The Navigating School Can’t program is grounded in established research from developmental psychology, trauma-informed practice, attachment theory, and nervous system regulation.
It reflects what we know about how stress impacts learning, behaviour, and capacity, and why pressure often makes school distress worse.
The framework aligns with current research on:
- School refusal and school distress
- Neurodivergence and sensory processing
- The impact of chronic stress on the developing brain Shame, identity, and parent-child connection
We do not promote quick fixes or behaviour-based compliance strategies that ignore underlying capacity. Instead, we prioritise stabilisation, safety, and relational repair, because these are consistently shown to be protective factors for long-term wellbeing.
The program is also informed by lived experience. Many traditional models overlook the emotional reality families are navigating. We bridge research with real-world application so parents can make decisions that are both evidence-informed and practical.
If you’re looking for rigid attendance targets or behaviour management scripts, this won’t be the right fit.
If you’re looking for a framework that respects nervous system capacity, protects connection, and supports thoughtful decision-making, this approach is grounded, considered, and aligned with current evidence.
How does the program approach school attendance?
We recognise that every family’s situation is different.
Rather than promoting rigid attendance targets, the program helps you assess capacity, stabilise first, and make decisions that reduce harm while working toward sustainable progress.
For some families, that includes gradual reintegration. For others, it may involve pausing and reassessing.
The focus is thoughtful decision-making, not pressure.
Is this only for neurodivergent children?
Many families navigating School Can’t have neurodivergent children, and we take a neuro-affirming approach.
However, the framework applies to any child experiencing school-related distress.
The focus is not on labels, it’s on understanding nervous system capacity and protecting wellbeing.
What age child is this for?
We have designed 'Navigating School Can't' for parents of primary and secondary aged children and young adults. So 6-18+
Where we have provided specific strategies for younger children we also give teen/young adult alternatives.
Where we have provided specific strategies for younger children we also give teen/young adult alternatives.
What exactly is covered in the program?
Let's break it down exactly for you:
7 Core Modules:
1. What is School Can’t?
2. Parent regulation sets the tone.
3. Safety as your #1 priority.
4. Working with schools.
5. Small practical steps.
6. What progress can look like.
7. What is the right next step for your family?
About 80 minutes of key, practical information to help put a framework around challenges and help you navigate a new path forward.
10 Optional Modules:
a. More on masking
b. Communication Tools
c. Putting language to school can’t barriers
d. Clarifying your family’s goals
e. Anxiety & school can’t
f. Trauma and autistic burnout
g. Learning Styles & strength-based approach
h. Choosing pathways
i. Alexithymia
j. Pathological Demand Avoidance & Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria
Dive deeper into the topics that are relevant for your family right now. No pressure to do any of these, if you're feeling burnt out. Remember you have 12 months to revisit the info as often as you want.
7 Core Modules:
1. What is School Can’t?
2. Parent regulation sets the tone.
3. Safety as your #1 priority.
4. Working with schools.
5. Small practical steps.
6. What progress can look like.
7. What is the right next step for your family?
About 80 minutes of key, practical information to help put a framework around challenges and help you navigate a new path forward.
10 Optional Modules:
a. More on masking
b. Communication Tools
c. Putting language to school can’t barriers
d. Clarifying your family’s goals
e. Anxiety & school can’t
f. Trauma and autistic burnout
g. Learning Styles & strength-based approach
h. Choosing pathways
i. Alexithymia
j. Pathological Demand Avoidance & Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria
Dive deeper into the topics that are relevant for your family right now. No pressure to do any of these, if you're feeling burnt out. Remember you have 12 months to revisit the info as often as you want.
How do I access the information?
Navigating School Can't is made up of short video modules, reflection exercises and dowloadable worksheets, templates and cheat sheets, all designed to help you put what you learn into action. All the information is transcribed if you would prefer to read rather than listen and all the information can be accessed from your phone through our member's site for 12 months from your start date.
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