Foundations Academy
A practical way to understand behavior, relationships, stress, protection, pressure, and connection. The goal is not technical fluency. It is recognizing what is happening while it is happening.
Foundations for Parents and Caregivers
Book a free Discovery CallA virtual course for parents and caregivers, with opportunities to understand your family’s patterns, explore different responses, and connect with other caregivers.
Foundations can stand alone and is also the shared beginning for Family Practice.
At a glance
For parents and caregivers wanting a place to learn, attempt and reflect on how they show up in family relationships.
$2,400 paid in full
Or $900 at enrollment, October 29 and November 29, 2026 · $2,700 total
Direct registration; a conversation is optional. Three-family minimum, eight-family maximum. A three-day pre-start cancellation window applies; ordinary withdrawal leaves installments owed. No Early Fit guarantee. Read the details.
This may be your family
You may have read the books, listened to advice, and attempted to be more consistent. Yet when something becomes difficult, the information can disappear.
One person gets louder. Another shuts down, agrees to something they do not want, or becomes difficult to reach. You may react in ways you regret and then wonder why you cannot simply do what you already know.
You may also be carrying the weight of other people’s judgment. Families often stop going out, stop explaining, or hide the parts of family life they fear no one else will understand.
Your family does not need to be in crisis, and your child does not need a diagnosis, for Foundations to be a meaningful place to begin.
What this gives you room for
What can change through Foundations
This is not about finding a new way to blame yourself or your child. It is about understanding enough to make something different possible.
Accountability without blame
When family life keeps repeating the same painful patterns, it is easy to arrive at one of two explanations: the child is choosing the behavior, or the caregiver has failed. Neither explanation tells the whole story.
Foundations helps caregivers understand behavior and relationships in context. We consider what each person has learned, what they may be protecting, and how earlier experiences enter present relationships.
Understanding those influences does not remove accountability or make harmful behavior acceptable. It creates room for accountability without blame.
Here is what you receive
A practical way to understand behavior, relationships, stress, protection, pressure, and connection. The goal is not technical fluency. It is recognizing what is happening while it is happening.
Bring real moments into the room, attempt new language and responses, and work out how the information applies in daily life.
Two family conversations of at least 90 minutes help connect the larger ideas to your relationships, patterns, questions, and next attempts.
Find people who understand
When you do not feel good about how you are showing up, it can become very lonely.
Foundations creates a place where caregivers can speak honestly with people who understand. Community and reduced isolation are part of the work, not an extra added around the edges.
“There is no judgement, no pressure. Biggest thing is you are not alone in this journey.”
Past Discovery Horse group participant
What Foundations includes
At least 29.75 participant hours, live online with Sara.
October 21 and 27, 2026
11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m. Central
12 Thursdays · 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m.
October 22–January 28, with Thanksgiving and winter pauses
Five Tuesdays · 11:30 a.m.–12:45 p.m.
November 10; December 1 and 15; January 5 and 19
One call in each window:
November 30–December 11
January 11–22
At least 90 minutes each.
First cohort · 3–8 family units
$2,400paid in full
Or $900 at enrollment, $900 on October 29, and $900 on November 29, 2026 · $2,700 total.
The minimum check is October 14. If three completed enrollments with successful initial payments are confirmed, enrollment remains open through October 19 at noon Central.
Start enrollmentEnrollment is open. Registration is handled personally while online checkout is being prepared. Sending a request does not confirm a place or take payment.
Built from respected work and deepened through practice
Foundations includes material from Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors, a course developed by Robyn Gobbel.
Sara and Matt are graduates of the BBTI Professional Immersion Program and Registered Raising Kids with Big, Baffling Behaviors Course Facilitators. They have taught the curriculum since 2022.
Dandelion School of Self has developed this experience through years of caregiver education, group support, virtual delivery, embodied learning, and work with neurodivergent children and families.
Foundations can be enough
You do not have to continue into a larger family program. You may leave Foundations with the understanding, language, practice, and community you needed.
If your family wants more individualized support, Foundations creates the shared starting point for Family Practice. Families wanting coordinated support for caregivers and a young person may continue into Family Practice with Youth.
The next level is available when it is useful. It is not the measure of whether Foundations worked.
Explore Family PracticeFit and continuity
Foundations uses direct enrollment. A conversation is optional if you are unsure about fit; it is not required before enrollment.
There is no Foundations Early Fit or results guarantee. A three-calendar-day cancellation and refund window applies only before the course begins. After that, ordinary withdrawal does not create a refund, credit, or transfer, and remaining installments stay owed.
Academy replays remain available for twelve months from the first Academy. Integration groups are not provided as participant replays. Missed sessions do not create private make-ups or refunds. On-ramp recovery, genuine emergency, provider cancellation, and cohort non-delivery have separate remedies.
Before you decide
No. Foundations is for caregivers. Direct Youth Sessions are available separately or through Family Practice with Youth.
No. We work with families whose distress becomes loud and families whose distress is quieter or easier to miss. You do not need a diagnosis or a particular kind of behavior to participate.
One caregiver may participate. The complete Foundations experience allows up to two caregivers from the same family unit.
Families needing sustained, individualized support can consider Family Practice, which includes Foundations plus 24 Family Practice hours. Adults wanting focused individual coaching may purchase the separate eight-hour Coaching Block.
No. Foundations is a virtual course. You participate online, and no horse experience or farm visit is required. Work with horses belongs to separate School of Self experiences.
No. Dandelion School of Self is a relational learning and practice program. It is not therapy, medical treatment, crisis response, or emergency care.
Start enrollment
Foundations enrollment is open. Send this request to begin, and Sara will follow up to confirm availability and arrange registration and payment.
Sending the form does not confirm your place or take payment.
Questions first? Book an optional Discovery Call ↗Prefer email? office@dandelionschoolofself.com
School of Self, in practice
We’re learning and building, too. You can start before everything is figured out.
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