Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids

Jessica Shaw, Understood.org

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. We share the tea, the struggles, and, of course…the juice.

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18 episodes
Updated July 21

Episodes18

Newest first

July 21 · 20 min
No dyslexia tutors, so this mom became one
Melena Blanton is a clinical psychologist and mom of two neurodivergent kids in Eastern Kentucky. She’s had to fight through lack of resources and small town prejudice to get her kids the help they need. That’s meant driving hours for evaluations, training as a tutor herself, and building a scrappy sisterhood of moms doing the impossible. This is what advocacy looks like when the system is broken.
July 7 · 20 min
Hyperfocus: PMDD: Why women with ADHD are 4x more likely to struggle
In this episode of our sister show Hyperfocus, listener Jenna Plonsky opens a raw conversation about ADHD, late diagnosis, and the mental health struggles many women face in silence. From postpartum depression to PMDD, this episode explores how hormonal shifts intersect with neurodivergence — and why so many go undiagnosed for decades. It’s an honest look at shame, self-perception, and the turning point that comes with finally understanding your brain.
June 23 · 20 min
How neurodivergent kids helped build a better children’s museum
Rainy Saturdays just got a whole lot better. Leslie Bushara, chief program officer of the Children’s Museum of Manhattan, reveals how she’s taking notes from neurodivergent kids and their parents to build a space that’s welcoming to every kind of learner, including yours. From muted paint colors to reimagined animations, Leslie shares what happens when you actually listen to kids.
June 9 · 17 min
First-gen parents, neurodivergent kids, and redefining excellence
Alison Cho grew up in a tight-knit Korean American family where Harvard and medical school weren’t just dreams, they were expectations. Alison had undiagnosed ADHD and autism, and she often felt like she was letting her parents down. Now she’s raising two neurodivergent kids of her own. And she’s navigating the same cultural expectations she grew up with, this time as the parent. In this funny and tender interview, Alison explores what she wants to keep from her upbringing — and what she wants t
May 26 · 25 min
We didn’t know we had ADHD. Then motherhood hit.
Two experts in ADHD went decades without realizing they had it themselves. Katie Severson, a speech pathologist, and Lori Long, a child psychologist, co-run The Childhood Collective and host the Shining With ADHD podcast. But both received their own ADHD diagnoses only after becoming mothers. They talk about late diagnosis, the shame that came before it, and how it shapes their parenting.
May 12 · 23 min
I’m an ADHD expert. My kid still can’t get help.
Rae Jacobson has spent her career covering ADHD and neurodivergence. She hosts the Hyperfocus podcast and helps lead Understood’s editorial team. But even with all that knowledge, she still can’t get the school to evaluate her daughter for an IEP. Here’s how she’s supporting her daughter while they wait for school services.
April 28 · 19 min
The hidden grief of parenting a neurodivergent kid
Brittney Crabtree, mom of four and co-host of the Moms Talk Autism podcast, gets refreshingly honest about what she calls “grieving the gap.” That’s the particular sadness of watching your neurodivergent kid fall behind their peers. She talks about building a “friendship portfolio,” vetting safe people to open up to, and why actually feeling your feelings is the best strategy.
April 14 · 30 min
Debbie Reber on homeschooling a neurodivergent kid
Debbie Reber tried everything to make traditional schools work for her neurodivergent kid. Three schools. An IEP. Therapists. OTs. Educational consultants. But homeschooling? That was a hard pass. Then her husband got a job offer on another continent and her options got very small, very fast. What followed was six years she never planned for — and wouldn’t trade for anything.
March 31 · 24 min
Parenting with ADHD: Balancing chaos and consistency
Parenting is hard. But parenting with ADHD adds a whole new layer of complexity. In this episode, journalist and documentarian Danielle Elliot shares her experience as a single mom navigating routines, decision-making, and the small daily choices that shape a child’s world. From sleep training to following her love of travel, Danielle is learning to embrace her own neurodivergence — and discovering how it can fuel both challenges and strengths in her parenting.
March 17 · 25 min
Math mystery: How we discovered my daughter has dyscalculia
Laura Jackson thought her daughter’s struggles with math were just a normal part of school — until tears, anxiety, and frustration revealed something more. After a long journey, Laura discovered her daughter has dyscalculia. So Laura worked closely with experts and used targeted strategies to support her learning. Today, her daughter is excelling in algebra and geometry, building confidence, and learning to become her own advocate.
March 3 · 24 min
The myth of work-life balance with a neurodivergent child
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.
February 17 · 29 min
Parenting regrets and giving yourself grace after an ADHD and autism diagnoses
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 topic Read: ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria (RSD) Listen: Navigating your child’s diag
February 3 · 37 min
Advocating for your child when school systems won’t bend
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.
January 20 · 42 min
When “fine” isn’t fine: A dyslexia story every parent should hear
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.
January 13 · 34 min
Meltdowns, mysteries, and multiple diagnoses
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, understand
Dec 23, 2025 · 30 min
Mom rage: Overwhelm and burnout don’t make you a bad parent
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
Dec 9, 2025 · 27 min
Can AI make life easier for parents of kids with ADHD?
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.
Dec 3, 2025 · 2 min
Welcome to Everyone Gets a Juice Box
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 paren

Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids

No dyslexia tutors, so this mom became one

Hyperfocus: PMDD: Why women with ADHD are 4x more likely to struggle

How neurodivergent kids helped build a better children’s museum

First-gen parents, neurodivergent kids, and redefining excellence

We didn’t know we had ADHD. Then motherhood hit.

I’m an ADHD expert. My kid still can’t get help.

The hidden grief of parenting a neurodivergent kid

Debbie Reber on homeschooling a neurodivergent kid

Parenting with ADHD: Balancing chaos and consistency

Math mystery: How we discovered my daughter has dyscalculia

The myth of work-life balance with a neurodivergent child

Parenting regrets and giving yourself grace after an ADHD and autism diagnoses

Advocating for your child when school systems won’t bend

When “fine” isn’t fine: A dyslexia story every parent should hear

Meltdowns, mysteries, and multiple diagnoses

Mom rage: Overwhelm and burnout don’t make you a bad parent

Can AI make life easier for parents of kids with ADHD?

Welcome to Everyone Gets a Juice Box