Episode 024

A Different Kind of Back to School: Supporting Your Student Through Eating Disorder Recovery

In this episode, Jenni Gaines and Laura Cohen talk through what the back to school season actually looks like when a child is in eating disorder recovery, drawing entirely on their own experience as caregivers. They cover slow re-entry plans and partial schedules, the school services many families never learn about until they ask, and the specific problem of school lunch — why a lunch monitor is not meal support, and what creative workarounds families have used to protect a third of the day's nutrition. Laura walks caregivers through the 504 plan in detail: what it is, what it is not, how to request one, and what to do when a district refuses. Both hosts spend time on the emotional side too — the exhaustion of navigating social noise all day, the grief of a social life on hold, and the permission to change the plan when it stops working. Listeners will come away with practical questions to bring to their school and a reminder that this season is now, not forever.

00:00 Introduction and Disclaimer

01:00 Why Back to School Feels Different in Recovery

02:30 Laura's Story: A Senior Year Interrupted

05:00 It's Not All or Nothing: The Slow Re-Entry Plan

06:40 School Services Families Don't Know Exist

09:40 Jenni's Story: Six Weeks of Homebound School

14:00 School Lunch: Why It's the Hardest Part of the Day

17:30 Getting Creative with Lunch and Snacks

20:20 Finding a Safe Person at School

24:50 Social Noise and Why They Come Home Exhausted

28:20 Adjusting Expectations: Sports, Activities, and Milestones

33:00 The 504 Plan: What It Is and How to Request One

41:00 When a District Says No

42:20 Validation, Collaboration, and Flexibility

SUPPORT & RESOURCES - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

FEAST website:

https://feast-ed.org/

FEAST programs and services:

https://feast-ed.org/programs-and-services/