Podcasts are a great way to gather information, news, and perspectives on just about anything these days.  (And a great way to pass the time while folding laundry or waiting for an appointment!)  There’s a growing library of popular parenting podcasts out there, which can make them challenging to sift through.  So we took some time to find 11 of the best podcasts for parents of children with special needs.  We’re sure you’ll find a few that inspire and inform you!

1. Unexceptional Moms

Hosted by two mothers of children with special needs, this podcast provides practical, actional advice on parenting a child with special needs.  From what to do when your child elopes (wanders), to managing the family when one caretaker gets sick, to navigating an older child’s job interests and employment training, this podcast covers all stages of life--with special sensitivity to the needs of the parents, too.

2. Parenting Special Needs Podcast

An offshoot of Parenting Special Needs Magazine, this podcast shares practical tips and trends in the special needs parenting community.  Host Chantai Snellgrove is the creator and publisher of Parenting Special Needs Magazine and the parent of a child with special needs herself.  Podcast topics include important but often-overlooked areas like tax accounts, public vs. private school education, preparing for IEP meetings, and setting high expectations for children with special needs.

3. Dad to Dad Podcast

We absolutely love that there’s a podcast out there that’s geared just for dads, but better than that, it offers mentoring for fathers of kids with special needs.  The stories shared are beyond moving, and we can’t recommend it enough for the fathers in the Who Is Carter community.  The Dad to Dad Podcast is presented by the Special Fathers Network, which matches dads with mentor fathers who have experienced a similar situation.

4. Advocate Like a Mother

We’re thrilled that this podcast has returned after taking a hiatus in 2020!  (Who can blame them?!)  The series focuses on empowering parents to advocate for their children and includes powerfully vulnerable interviews with parents who have faced the unthinkable to practical health advice from pediatric therapists.  

5. Embracing Holland Podcast

Named after Emily Perl Kingsley’s iconic essay, “Welcome to Holland,” this podcast explores a common experience of special needs parents: Embracing the unexpected news of a special needs diagnosis and learning to navigate the new world of the child you have, rather than grieving the child you thought you would have.  The hosts are parents of children with special needs, and they share interviews with parents and teachers, as well as their own “special needs life hacks.”

6. Accepting the Unacceptable

Mother Jody Warshawsky tackles the tough topics and questions of being a special needs parent, like how to respond when others use the R-word, or how important it is for parents to acknowledge and seek treatment for depression.  Because one of Jody’s children has autism, she speaks powerfully to the autistic community, but her episodes can be a source of encouragement for any special needs family.

7. Parenting Impossible

This podcast addresses the well-being of children with special needs at the family level and at the community level.  Find practical advice on how to move from one state to another, finding the right trust protector for your child’s Special Needs Trust, addressing ableism in our society, and discovering COVID-19 benefits available for caregivers.

8. Parenting Great Kids

Though not exclusively geared toward parents of children with special needs (though a number of episodes are about children with special needs), this podcast covers a variety of relevant child-raising topics and features expert guests like psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Amen, marriage and family therapist Ron Deal, fitness guru Heidi Powell, author and pastor Max Lucado, and FOX News anchor Tucker Carlson.  Host Dr. Meg Meeker is a pediatrician, mother, best-selling author, and speaker on parenting.  The podcast carries a Christian faith-based perspective, but the advice and interviews are valuable to families of all faiths.

9. Calm Parenting Podcast

This podcast addresses some of the behavior issues that commonly occur among kids with special needs.  (Ok...all kids!)  Kirk Martin, founder of Celebrate Calm (https://celebratecalm.com/), provides tips on handling discipline, screen time, consequences, and tantrums in quick, mini-episodes that are easy to digest and easy to immediately apply to your parenting strategies.

10. NeuroMovement Revolution Podcast

Anat Baniel, founder of the Anat Baniel Method, is a practitioner on the forefront of the brain plasticity field and has changed the lives of thousands of children and adults with a variety of neurological conditions.  Carter, the inspiration behind the Who Is Carter Foundation, personally worked with Anat and other ABM practitioners and saw tremendous development as a result of their therapy sessions together.  Podcast conversations with Anat are always eye-opening, shedding more and more light on the miraculous capacity of the brain to heal itself--and heal the rest of the body.

11. The Brain Possible Podcast

We’ll wrap up the list with our own podcast, which contains interviews and inspiration that accompany the resources for parents on TheBrainPossible.com.  The Brain Possible podcast shares the inspirational stories of parents and caregivers--as well as interviews with doctors, authors, leading thinkers, and paradigm-shifters in the realm of pediatric health and wellness--all in an effort to change the conversation around childhood brain injury from limitations to possibilities.  Each episode is unique: One episode, you’ll learn how your family can create a nontoxic home environment, while the next, you’ll learn about therapies that benefit children with neurological conditions.  Host Emily Abbott brings a variety of experts and perspectives to the table.

Which podcasts did you find most helpful?  Is one of your top podcasts missing from the list?  What’s the best podcast app for finding parenting resources?  What are your favorite podcasts for kids?  Which podcast topics would you like to hear on The Brain Possible Podcast?  Send your feedback and suggestions of good podcasts to info@whoiscarter.org.