26/11/2025
School refusal or school cant can be tied back to a nervous system trying to protect our child from what it perceives to be incredible levels of ongoing and unrelenting stressors that it can no longer cope with. It’s a gradual decline in capacity often until full burnout is reached.
At the point of burnout trying to only improve things at school is like trying to fight a house fire with a garden hose
Something much bigger is needed to save the house.
Best supports for a nervous system in burnout are
Reduce demands (even fun demands)
✔ Prioritize safety, comfort, predictability
✔ Provide co-regulation (your calm supports their calm)
✔ Support sensory needs, not suppress them
✔ Zero-pressure: each activity is optional
Another reel coming soon about burnout supports
Has you child experienced school can’t? where there early warning signs they were in functional freeze before burnout ?
