Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids

Laura Mayer opens up about the challenges of balancing an ambitious career with the nagging feeling that she needed more space for her neurodivergent daughter.  She shares the gut-wrenching moments of juggling long hours and the many to-dos that come along with a new diagnosis. In the end, trusting herself led to bold choices. They not only reshaped her priorities but led her to a career shift that worked better for her and her family. For more on this topic Read: Interoception and sensory processing challenges Listen: Self-care tips for parents navigating a child’s diagnosis For a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

After ADHD and autism diagnoses reshaped his family, Dion Chavis began looking back at how he parented his teenage daughter — and forward at how he’s raising his young son. In this conversation, he shares the lessons he learned about academics, connection, anger, grace, and apologizing. It’s an honest look at how parenting evolves and what happens when you decide to grow alongside your kids.More on this topicRead: ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD)Listen: Navigating your child’s diagnosis (self-care tips)Listen: Emotional regulation as a mom with ADHDFor a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Our episode today starts with that call from school every parent dreads… Jessica talks with mom and education advocate Tricia McGhee after a classroom discipline incident forces a bigger conversation about neurodivergent kids and school systems that just aren’t built to flex.  In this episode, we’re also looking at what happens when getting a diagnosis doesn’t lead to help or services — and why collaboration  with schools matters just as much as understanding our own kids. For more on this topic:  Read: What is a 504 plan? Listen: Tips from a parent advocate Listen: Does my child have dyslexia? Read: What is dyscalculia? For a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Some kids don’t fall apart in public. They save it for home — because it’s the one place they feel safe enough to let go. When teachers and professionals say a child is “fine,” we parents are often left questioning our instincts. They’re the experts, right?In this episode, psychologist and mom Dr. Arielle Schwartz shares how trusting her gut led her to uncover her son’s dyslexia and sensory differences, and how following that intuition ultimately changed his life.For more on this topic: Read: Signs of dyslexia at different agesWatch: Stars on EarthLearn: Eye to Eye mentorship programWatch: The Big Picture: Rethinking DyslexiaFor a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Parenting can feel like a detective mission, especially when your kid has more than one diagnosis.Mom (and yes, a very insightful therapist) Camila de Onis shares her story of tracking her daughter’s meltdowns, sensory triggers, and unexpected behaviors to figure out that her daughter has ADHD and OCD — and is academically gifted to boot. From mysterious school episodes to blowups at home, she takes listeners through the twists, dead ends, and “aha” moments of seeking evaluations, understanding diagnoses, and learning how to help a kid whose brain is a truly fascinating puzzle.For more on this topic: Read: All about evaluationsListen: How I’m navigating my child’s two diagnosesRead: Sensory processing and anxietyFor a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcasts@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Most of us have been there. Your kids are full tilt. You’re overstimulated, overbooked, and running on empty. Losing it happens — and so do the guilt and shame that follow.Today, Jessica sits down with therapist and mom Michelle Puster to talk about the overwhelm, guilt, and burnout behind mom rage, especially when raising neurodivergent kids. They share their own strategies (like mindfulness and self-compassion) to ease the intensity, help you reset your nervous system, and make you feel like yourself again.For more on this topic: Watch: Brené Brown on shameRead: Dr. Laura Markham’s book Peaceful Parent, Happy KidsLearn more: RAIN meditation techniqueListen: Managing your emotions as a mom with ADHDFor a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In our very first episode of Everyone Gets a Juice Box, Jessica gets real with fourth-grade teacher and mom Bayla Weisman about using AI to support kids with ADHD at home and in the classroom. From visual schedules and social stories to doom piles, busy sports calendars, and picky eating, Bayla shares what’s actually helping her family stay afloat. Turns out AI can be an amazing tool — not a crutch — in the messy middle of parenting neurodivergent kids.For more on this topic: Listen: What could the AI boom mean for neurodivergent people?Read: 6 ways AI can help you manage ADHDFor a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Journalist and radio host Jessica Shaw is swapping celebrity interviews for a whole new beat: parenting kids who learn and think differently. As a mom of two, she knows the chaos, victories, and everyday struggles that come with the territory.Everyone Gets a Juice Box is a space for parents to laugh, vent, celebrate wins, and tackle the messy realities of neurodiverse parenting. Nothing is off-limits — from school struggles to mom rage. Join us for honest, unfiltered conversations with parents who get it. We share the tea, the struggles, and, of course… the juice.For a transcript and more resources, visit Everyone Gets a Juice Box on Understood.org. You can also email us at podcast@understood.org. Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.