All Episodes
Opportunity Gap: For Families Navigating Special Education — 103 episodes
The reasons kids shut down before summer break
3 hidden IEP benefits every parent should know
The case for more play in school
ADHD and how eating affects focus for kids
The school programs giving kids a real advantage
Help kids face failure without stepping in to fix it
Do kids really need homework?
Introducing Everyone Gets a Juice Box
Top 5 IEP meeting tips from a parent advocate
The mid-year reset: How parents can help kids finish the school year strong
Phone-free classrooms: What happens when devices disappear
School refusal vs. sick days: What’s really going on?
How “bad behavior” may signal anxiety in kids with ADHD
Is special education in crisis? Federal layoffs explained
What to do when parent-teacher relationships go wrong
Trouble with reading? Is it dyslexia?
How to talk to your child about microaggressions in the classroom
Parent-teacher conference tips: What to say and ask
Kids struggling with math? It could be dyscalculia
What is an “opportunity gap”? (and how it impacts kids)
Ask Me Anything: Your back-to-school questions answered
Julian Saavedra talks supporting your child on The Mama’s Den podcast
Best of: Unpacking viral ADHD myths on social media with Dr. Kristin Carothers
What is a “good summer” for kids with learning disabilities?
8 key special education terms parents should know
What you need to know about federal funding for special education
What to do when kids are feeling depressed or anxious
When dyslexia is missed: The impact on students of color
Navigating your child’s diagnosis: Self-care tips for parents
4 tips to help kids cope with uncertainty and anxiety
How to build strong parent-child bonds
The hard truth about racism in special education: Part 2
The hard truth about racism in special education: Part 1
The power of culturally responsive teaching
How to get over the “mid-year slump”
What families wish you knew about learning disabilities
Building strong reading skills in kids
How I’d parent my ADHD kids differently
Helping kids navigate the holiday season
How I’m navigating my child’s two diagnoses
Game on! Teaching kids sportsmanship
What to do after a parent-teacher conference
How to build a supportive village for kids
Navigating fatherhood with ADHD
What to do when school supports fall short
How to teach kids independence
Empowering kids for school success
How to make summer learning fun
Parenting Behavior: What is behavior?
Creating teachable moments
Understanding preschool services
Understood Explains IEPs: Special education terms and your legal rights
IEPs and English language learners
What teachers want parents to know
In It: Olympian Michelle Carter talks ADHD and dyslexia
Social media and toxic myths about ADHD
Growing up with ADHD: An interview with René Brooks
Understanding the IEP process
Talking to your child’s pediatrician about learning differences
Diverse impact: Champions of change at Understood
Preparing kids for life after high school
How to get kids to talk about school
What is the school-to-prison pipeline?
In It: How to tame tantrums and meltdowns with Dr. Andrew Kahn
Talking to your family about your child’s differences
In It: How to make the most of parent-teacher conferences
Confronting racial bias within special education
Dyslexia Awareness Month
Bonus: Introducing “What Now?”
What is a learning disability?
En español: Preguntas y respuestas sobre la educación especial
Empowering English language learners
Supporting self-esteem and confidence in kids
In It: Discipline, ADHD, and learning differences
Stopping “summer slide”
Supporting kids’ mental health: Tim Massaquoi on shame, stigma, and asking for help
Supporting kids’ mental health: Kier Gaines on fatherhood, self-care, and social media
Trauma, learning differences, and kids of color
What is a special education evaluation? (from “Understood Explains”)
Black History Month: Celebrating Lois, Solange, and Octavia
IEP meeting tips for parents of kids of color
Growth mindset and the power of “yet”
ADHD and race: What Black families need to know
Bias in school discipline: When the teacher says your child is “acting out”
Myths about special education
“The Opportunity Gap” Season 2
A mom of 8 with limited resources on advocating for her son with ADHD, and feeling judged
Bullying, shame, and parenting guilt: Reacting to real stories
Wisdom for families from LeDerick Horne, poet with dyslexia
Understanding your child’s behavior as communication
How “The Talk” changes with disability and learning differences
Why Black girls with learning disabilities need more visibility
Early intervention and kids of color
Teacher shortages, special education, and kids of color
How to teach Black history to kids with learning differences and ADHD
ADHD parenting tips from a Black clinical psychologist
Omicron, special education, and marginalized communities
Twice-exceptional Black and brown kids
IEP meeting tips for undocumented families
Is special education different in wealthy schools?
ADHD as a “white boy problem”
Simone Biles and why role models are hard to find
Introducing The Opportunity Gap