School “avoidance”: Part 2 - The impact on families and what we can do about it | Heidi Mavir

Part two of our deep dive into EBSA for neurodivergent children is essential listening for anyone navigating the school avoidance minefield as a parent or carer of a neurodivergent child - whether they are autistic, ADHD, PDA profile, or any combination of the above. Heidi Mavir returns to offer her advice as someone who has lived every corner of this experience - not only in her own life, but also through her advocacy work with thousands of families affected by barriers to attendance. In this episode, we dig into the real-world impact - the emotional, financial and logistical strain it places on families. We also look at practical things parents can actually do if their child is experiencing barriers to attendance - from how absences should be coded at school, to what the Children's Wellbeing Bill means for home education rights, to when a part-time timetable might help and when it's just a sticking plaster. If you're wrestling with EBSA daily and you’re looking for advice that's rooted in lived experience, this is the episode for you.   CHAPTER TIMESTAMPS (ESTIMATED) 00:01:28 - Meet The Guest 00:03:25 - Topic of the Week: Barriers to Attendance Part 2 00:03:59 - Parental Blame and Being Doubted by School Professionals 00:09:32 - Attendance Targets, Fines, and Rewarding Full Attendance 00:13:23 - "Make Home Less Appealing" and Other Unhelpful Advice 00:17:49 - Why Exposure Therapy Doesn't Work for EBSA 00:21:35 - The Emotional, Financial and Relational Impact on Parents 00:35:34 - What You Can Actually Do: Practical Advice for Families 00:53:15 - Home Education, Deregistering and the Children's Wellbeing Bill 01:11:46 - EOTAS and When School Just Isn't the Right Shape 01:15:07 - It's Not All Rubbish: Specialist Settings and What Works 01:20:05 - Neurodiversity Champions 01:25:19 - Tiny Epic Wins 01:31:10 - What the Flip! LINKS TO STUFF WE MENTION IN THIS EPISODE Neuroshambles mailing list sign-up (with free PDF of all What the Flip moments from all 59 episodes) - https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2414072/190019322933937234/share Your Child Is Not Broken book, Heidi Mavir - https://www.heidimavir.com/i-wrote-a-book Your Child Is Not Broken free Facebook community - https://www.facebook.com/groups/eotasmatters Heidi Mavir: The Marble run - https://www.heidimavir.com/the-marble-run Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act - https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3909 Section 19 of Children and Families Act - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2014/6/section/19 EOTAS, EOTIS, EOTISC - https://www.ipsea.org.uk/home-education-and-education-otherwise Not Fine in School - https://www.notfineinschool.co.uk Define Fine - https://www.definefine.org.uk/ SEND Advocacy Limited (Alice) - https://www.sendadvocacy.com/ Audhdacious Humans - https://www.audhdacious.com/ Make and Create Club - https://www.audhdacious.com/make-and-create/club/ Eliza Fricker and "Can't Not Won't" - https://amzn.eu/d/0bMMrrwa   📣 CONTACT NEUROSHAMBLES 🌐 Website: www.neuroshambles.com 📧 Email: [email protected] 📸 Instagram: @neuroshambles 🎵 TikTok: @neuroshamblespod 📘 Facebook: Neuroshambles 📬 Sign up to the Neuroshambles mailing list: https://preview.mailerlite.io/forms/2414072/190019322933937234/share   🎙️ CREDITS 🎶 Theme music by Skilsel on Pixabay: https://pixabay.com