Homeschooling Children with Special Needs
Parenting a child who struggles in the traditional school system is overwhelming enough, but when your child starts to unravel behind closed doors, the weight of every decision falls entirely on you. In this episode of the Super Mumma Podcast, I sat down with Caro Giles, author of Unschooled, to talk honestly about what happens when school stops being a safe place and parents are forced to find a new way forward.
Caro’s story is one that so many parents of children with additional needs will recognise. From masking in the classroom to breaking down at home, from being dismissed by professionals to being pushed into making impossible choices, this conversation shines a light on the hidden reality of navigating the education system as a parent.
If you are exploring home education or feeling lost in the world of special educational needs, this episode will feel like both a hug and a battle cry.
When School Stops Working
Caro is a single mum of four children. Two of her daughters, despite being academically capable and well behaved in school, were masking so intensely that they were becoming mentally unwell at home. The more she tried to keep them in mainstream school, the more their health deteriorated.
Eventually, keeping them in school was no longer an option. Home education became the only way to protect their mental health.
But making that decision came with huge emotional and practical consequences. The responsibility for their learning fell entirely on her. She became their teacher, their carer, their advocate, and their voice in every meeting and tribunal. And like so many mums in this position, she was told repeatedly that she was “choosing” this path, even when every professional agreed her children were too unwell to be in school.
The Reality of Homeschooling Children with Additional Needs
Homeschooling children with special needs is not the Instagram version of cosy mornings at the kitchen table. It is emotionally heavy, isolating, and often financially impossible. Caro shares openly how:
• her daughters masked at school but broke down at home
• the lack of support from local authorities pushed her into burnout
• being dismissed, doubted, or ignored became a regular experience
• the mental load of parenting children with additional needs consumed her identity
• unpaid caring work falls disproportionately on women
Her book Unschooled captures all of this with honesty and warmth. It gives language to the silent experiences many mothers never get to say out loud.
What Caro’s Story Shows Us About the Education System
So much of this conversation highlights how the current education system is not built for neurodivergent children or those with complex needs. Caro explains how:
• support is often denied unless a child “fails” visibly
• masking leads schools and professionals to underestimate need
• parents are forced to prove their child is struggling, often at great emotional cost
• attendance pressures ignore mental health
• flexible schooling options are rarely offered, even when they would help a child thrive
It’s a system that expects all children to fit one model, and when they can’t, parents are the ones who carry the consequences.
Finding Hope and Rebuilding Identity
Despite everything her family has been through, Caro speaks with hope. After years of isolation, she is slowly finding herself again. Her writing helped her reconnect with an identity beyond being a carer. Moving to a new city has brought fresh support. And she shares beautifully how she is learning to notice joy even in the hardest seasons.
Her message to other mums is simple and powerful: you are not alone. Thousands of families are navigating similar struggles, even if the system makes you feel like you’re the only one.
What Happens Next for Caro’s Family
Caro’s eldest daughter, now 18, has found her own way to learn successfully from home, completing qualifications without formal exams. Another daughter is still recovering from the impact of school. Two of her children thrive in mainstream school. Like many families navigating additional needs, their journey is a mix of joy, grief, healing, and resilience.
Home education is not the easy road, but for her children it has been the right one.
A Little More About Unschooled
If this episode speaks to you, Caro’s book Unschooled is an essential read. It is a beautifully written, unflinching memoir about carving out an education that protects a child’s mental health when the system cannot. Through lyrical storytelling and raw honesty, Caro explores the emotional, practical, and political realities of raising children who do not fit the mainstream mould. Unschooled shines a light on the resilience of mothers, the unseen labour of caring, and the courage it takes to go against the grain for your child.
You can find the book here at Waterstones.
Final Thoughts
Caro’s journey is a powerful reminder that homeschooling children with special needs is rarely a choice. It is a lifeline. Her story highlights the emotional strength it takes to advocate for a child who cannot cope in the classroom, and the compassion needed from schools, professionals, and society as a whole.
As Caro says so perfectly:
“I'm a supermama because I always look for the magic amongst the challenges.”
This episode is essential listening for any parent raising a child with additional needs, exploring homeschooling, or exhausted by the fight for support. You deserve to be heard. You deserve to be supported. And you deserve to feel seen in your motherhood journey.
