49 episodes listed below
Clearer language for harder parenting days.
In It is a practical, candid archive for families raising kids who learn and think differently. Across conversations with parents, caregivers, kids, and experts, it turns school struggles, morning chaos, confidence dips, and service questions into clearer next steps.
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In It is a family-centered podcast about raising kids whose brains do not always fit neatly into school systems, morning routines, or ordinary parenting scripts. It is calm, but not glossy. The show spends real time with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, executive function, confidence, therapy, and special education supports. Its strongest episodes begin with a familiar worry. A child cannot get out the door. A teacher says a struggling student is too smart for services. A kid says, "I'm stupid." A parent wonders whether therapy is needed, what a therapist actually does, and how caregivers fit into the process. From there, the conversations move toward practical language and next steps rather than easy reassurance. The archive balances expert explanation with parent reality. Dr. Kristen Carruthers talks about replacing vague frustration with specific coaching. Dr. Andy Kahn connects learning and thinking differences with risks like anxiety, depression, and behavior challenges when support is delayed. Cara Ball reframes STEM and STEAM as inquiry-based learning, not just memorizing answers and getting them right. Karis and Kevin bring the perspective of a teen with dyslexia and a family learning what that journey feels like from the inside. The show is also honest about the grown-up side of the work. Episodes touch on burnout, overwhelm, birthday-party dread, partner division of labor, and the need for a village around neurodivergent families. Its advice is not abstract. It lands in timers, transitions, eligibility criteria, classroom observations, therapy questions, and the words parents reach for when patience is already thin. The final episodes acknowledge that the show has ended, while pointing listeners back to a six-season archive that remains available through Understood.org. That gives In It the feel of a resource shelf rather than a news feed. Families can come to it when a specific problem appears, or when they simply need to hear that the hard parts have names. It suits listeners who want expertise, but also want someone to admit that the morning routine can be brutal. The show's lasting value is its mix of plainspoken compassion and concrete educational guidance.
Made for: Parents and caregivers of kids with ADHD, dyslexia, dyscalculia, executive function challenges, or other learning and thinking differences. It also fits teachers and family members who want practical context without clinical distance.
What sets it apart: In It pairs parent-level candor with expert explanation, moving from emotionally familiar problems to concrete tools, school language, and support options. Its six-season archive covers both the child's experience and the caregiver stress around it.
Discover In It, a podcast that explores the joys and frustrations of supporting kids with learning disabilities and ADHD. Join hosts Rachel Bozek and Gretchen Vierstra as they talk with parents, caregivers, teachers, and sometimes kids. They offer perspective, advice, and stories for and from people who have challenges with reading, math, focus, and other learning differences. Get tips on parenting kids with learning disabilities like dyslexia.
School says "too smart." Your kid says "I'm stupid." In It asks what you do next.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A candid, grounded look at mom rage, burnout, and the slow work of widening a parent's window of tolerance.
Mom rage surfaces through a rushed car-seat moment, after a parent recalls sweating, crying, yelling, and kicking a small play kitchen once the children were buckled in and unable to see.
A final In It conversation about the relief of finding parents who understand what school drop-off often leaves unsaid.
In It closes with community in view, as Gretchen Wierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Jessica Shaw about Everyone Gets a Juice Box, Understood.org's podcast for parents raising neurodivergent kids.
A practical guide to IEP barriers for children whose school struggles are easy to overlook.
When a child is struggling in school but the school says they are too smart for an IEP, the hard part can become proving why support is still needed.
A clear, practical reframing of why ADHD can make mornings so hard to move through.
Morning routines make a sharp, everyday test case for ADHD executive functions here, as attention, task switching, working memory, organization, and time management all have to line up before the day has really started.
Jonquilyn Hill chases one listener question per episode to the experts who can answer it.
Hard conversations, patiently held, with room to laugh.
Care, culture, and the choices shaping Black women's lives.
Gretchen introduces Understood's new podcast, "Everyone Gets a Juice Box," hosted by Jessica Shaw, and says Jessica is shifting her long journalism and podcast career toward parenting neurodivergent kids.
The final episode of In It: Raising Kids Who Learn Differently centers on why Jessica Shaw is launching Everyone Gets A Juice Box, a new Understood.org show for parents of neurodivergent kids.
Gretchen Fierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Danielle Ward, a parent advocate with Encompass Parent Solutions, about children who are told they are “way too smart” to qualify for an IEP.
John Zeitlin, co-founder of Habit Coach and an ADHD coach in Palo Alto, says morning routines fail when kids have to manage seven or eight steps before school.
Gretchen Wierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Dr.
A 15-year-old girl with dyslexia and her father share her journey of diagnosis, self-discovery, and finding her voice through dance.
Andy Kahn recommends considering therapy when difficulties repeatedly prevent a child from attending school or managing everyday activities.
STEM expert Cara Ball debunks the myth that kids with learning differences can't excel in STEM, explaining the inquiry-based approach.
An expert offers guidance on managing children's screen time during summer break, addressing parental concerns about addiction, mental health, and device use.
Children's book author Lindsey Rowe Parker discusses her new book about a girl with sensory differences and the importance of representation in children's literature.