If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

Money. Budgeting. Savings. They’re all stressful. And when you factor in the added expenses that can come with raising a child with learning and thinking differences, it can feel like too much.

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek welcome personal finance expert Kim Palmer. Kim is a mom to three kids and she writes for NerdWallet. She’s also the author of three books about money: Smart Mom, Rich Mom; The Economy of You; and Generation Earn.

Tune in to get Kim’s expert advice about budgeting when you have kids with learning and thinking differences.

For a transcript and more resources, visit the In It page on Understood.org

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Related resources

• Long-term financial planning for a child with special needs
• Checklist: Saving for college
• Listen: Impulse buying, negative bank balances, and the ADHD tax

Timestamps  

(1:38) Unanticipated expenses

(5:54) Budgeting tools

(10:53) Emergencies and the struggle to save

(22:23) Letting kids in on the finances

For a transcript and more resources, visit the In It page on Understood.org

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

We’ve all been there: Our child is refusing to do something that, to us, seems super reasonable. Do we offer them a reward to get them to cooperate? Where is the line between bribery and rewarding a child? Will we ruin them?

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek welcome Dr. Andy Kahn back to the show. Dr. Andy is a licensed psychologist and Understood’s associate director of behavior change and expertise. He’s also the host of the podcast Parenting Behavior with Dr. Andy Kahn.

Tune in to get Andy’s expert advice about bribes and rewards.

Related resources

• What are positive behavioral interventions and supports (PBIS)?
• 7 ideas for using rewards and consequences
• The power of motivation for kids who learn and think differently
• How to give praise that builds kids’ self-esteem
• “I’m not yelling—you’re yelling!” Tips for staying calm when kids act out

Timestamps 

(1:22) The difference between a bribe and a reward

(5:08) Pairing verbal praise with reinforcement

(8:31) How close to the behavior should the reward be

(16:03) Money as a reward

(21:08) Behavior charts and LTDs

(25:14) Helping kids change behaviors

For a transcript and more resources, visit the In It page at Understood.org

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

Sometimes, parents and caregivers can feel overwhelmed or burned out. Caring for children can feel exhausting and add up without us even realizing it.

What’s a parent to do?

In this episode of In It, we talk with Dr. Nekeshia Hammond. Hammond is a psychologist, executive function coach, and motivational speaker. She specializes in helping people navigate burnout and exhaustion, as well as how to build resiliency.

During our conversation, Nekeshia shows us ways to answer the following questions:

• How am I doing?
• What do I need?
• What steps can I take today to make some improvements in my life?

She also talks about the importance of finding support you can lean on and understanding that you, as a parent or caregiver, don’t have to do everything. 

Timestamps

(02:08) Taking a minute

(04:47) Adult time-outs for managing parental burnout

(06:28) Long-term strategies for your mental health and finding boundaries

(11:11) Delegating tasks and accepting help

(14:07) What to do when we lose it

(17:10) Knowing when to walk away

(20:25) Feeling isolated

Related resources

• Parenting guilt: Tips to get past it
• A personal conversation about being a mom (and woman) with ADHD
• “I’m not yelling—you’re yelling!” Tips for staying calm when kids act out
• Building self-compassion skills
• 32 examples of workplace accommodations

For a transcript of this episode and additional resources, visit the In It page on Understood.org.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

This week on In It, a crossover episode! 

Co-host Rachel Bozek chats with Mallory Yee, PhD, who is a host of Shining With ADHD, a parenting podcast from The Childhood Collective. Mallory is also a licensed psychologist specializing in kids with ADHD. 

On this episode, the two talk about how they handle moments and situations when their personal and professional lives meet. 

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

For a transcript and more resources, visit the In It page on Understood.org. 

Timestamps

• (04:30) Relating to our kids’ teachers
• (09:20) Being able to look back and laugh
• (12:54) Mallory on our personal vs. professional selves
• (14:29) Rachel on taking experts’ advice in real life
• (16:00) Thinking about our own advice and expectations

Related resources

• Shining With ADHD from The Childhood Collective
• Hygiene battles: Tips from an ADHD expert
• Social media and parenting: How much is too much?

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

The news is often scary, confusing, and sometimes overwhelming. And kids who learn and think differently may have an especially hard time with intense news cycles. 

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with returning guest Dr. Kristin Carothers. Kristin is a clinical psychologist based in Atlanta and New York City who specializes in cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral interventions. She’s also an adjunct associate professor of psychiatry at Morehouse School of Medicine and an expert contributor for Understood. 

Kristin offers tips and strategies to help parents and caregivers navigate difficult news cycles with kids who learn and think differently.

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the In It podcast page at Understood.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Related resources

• How scary news can impact kids who learn and think differently
• What is perseveration?
• Racism and violence: How to help kids handle the news
• ADHD parenting tips from a Black clinical psychologist

Timestamps

(3:18) Understanding the effect the news is having on your child

(6:45) Flexible thinking

(9:50) Respecting different points of view

(13:32) Perseveration

(17:08) Managing the impulse to overshare

(17:44) Understanding levels of disclosure

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

You may have read or heard that kids with ADHD are at a higher risk for addiction. Is this true? If so, why? And what can we, as parents and caregivers, do about it?

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Dr. Roberto Olivardia. Roberto is a Massachusetts-based clinical psychologist. He has spent years evaluating people for learning and thinking differences including ADHD. And he was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult. 

He shares helpful information to help families understand the relationship between the risk of addiction and ADHD.

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the In It podcast page at Understood.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Related resources

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Suicide and Crisis Hotline
• 5 common concerns parents have about ADHD medications for kids
• Study finds that ADHD medication reduces risk of drug abuse for people with ADHD
• ADHD medication misuse, sharing, and abuse: What you need to know

Timestamps  

(02:01) Chemistry of ADHD

(02:40) Helpful statistics about risk and ADHD

(06:15) Self-medication studies

(13:28) Risk of addiction

(15:34) Talking to younger kids 

(21:22) The importance of communication

(22:16) Assertiveness skills for kids

Understood 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

This week on In It, we’re sharing an episode of another podcast we love called Good Inside with Dr. Becky.

The show’s host, Dr. Becky Kennedy, is a clinical psychologist and mom of three. Each week, she talks to parents, experts, and trusted friends and colleagues about strategies and tips for the stickiest parenting situations.

We’re sharing an episode called The ‘more’ kids, featuring Dr. Becky in conversation with Debbie Reber, the founder of Tilt Parenting. The two define what it means to have a “more” kid. These are kids we might describe as “deeply feeling.”

From resistance to tears and meltdowns, “more” kids have big reactions, and yes, usually more often. Listen to learn about strategies for navigating life with a “more” kid.

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

Gus Walz is the son of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz. You may have seen him cheering for his dad at the Democratic National Convention in August. At that time, many of us learned that he has a nonverbal learning disability or NVLD.

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Dr. Andy Kahn. Andy is a psychologist, and he’s the associate director of Expertise and Strategic Design here at Understood. He also hosts the Understood podcast Parenting Behavior. Listen as Andy explains what it means to have an NVLD. He also talks about the relationship between NVLDs and ADHD. 

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the In It podcast page at Understood.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Related resources

• What are nonverbal learning disabilities?
• Classroom accommodations for nonverbal learning disabilities
• Video: A young woman opens up about growing up with NVLD

Timestamps  

(02:16) Defining NVLD

(03:44) More details about NVLDs

(07:21) ADHD and NVLDs

(08:30) Neurodivergence in the news

Understood 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

If you like this show, consider making a donation this holiday season. 100% of your donation will go towards helping us create more podcasts (like this one!). Click here to make a gift today.

You might have heard or seen the acronym STEM in education circles. It stands for science, technology, engineering, and math. And it can be very helpful for kids with learning and thinking differences.

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Kara Ball. Kara is the author of 50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills. She has been a science and special education teacher, and a STEM education specialist for Baltimore public schools. She was also a finalist for National Teacher of the Year in 2018. 

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the In It podcast page at Understood.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Timestamps

(1:18) Defining STEM

(3:16) Kara’s dyslexia and dyscalculia diagnoses

(5:07) Why Kara became a special education teacher

(8:23) Understanding where STEM and learning and thinking differences meet

(20:31) Working on communication and collaboration

Related resources:

• What is dyslexia?
• What is dyscalculia?
• Video: Are boys better at math than girls?
• What if the teacher has learning differences, too?
• Kara’s book: 50 Strategies for Teaching STEAM Skills

Understood 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

Brushing their teeth. Taking a shower. Cleaning up after themselves. What’s going on when kids seem to ignore these must-do tasks? And what can parents and caregivers do to change that?

In this episode of In It, hosts Gretchen Vierstra and Rachel Bozek talk with Brendan Mahan. Brendan is an executive function coach and the host of the podcast ADHD Essentials. 

He offers tips and strategies to help parents and caregivers understand why some kids avoid working on their personal hygiene.

To get a transcript of this show and check out more episodes, visit the In It podcast page at Understood.

We love hearing from our listeners. Email us at [email protected].

Related resources

• Washing hands: How to get kids in the habit 
• ADHD and messiness
• A day in the life of a child with slow processing speed
• Brendan’s podcast, ADHD Essentials

Timestamps

(01:51) Cleanliness and self-care

(06:43) Executive function, room cleaning, and more

(18:07) Social concerns

(21:07) Reward systems

(23:07) Hygiene late bloomers

Understood 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