Why their son’s ADHD divided these Couples Therapy stars
Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent KidsShow Notes
Fans of the Showtime and Paramount+ series Couples Therapy spent a whole season getting to know Marjorie and Jason Caffrey. One of the most memorable episodes centered on a heated disagreement about their son, Ryan. Marjorie had taken him to the pediatrician for an ADHD evaluation without telling Jason first. Jason felt shut out of a huge decision about their child.
More than a year after their sessions with Dr. Orna Guralnik ended, the couple joins Juice Box host Jessica Shaw on a new couch to talk about where things stand now.
It turns out their reactions to Ryan’s diagnosis have a lot to do with their own stories. Marjorie was diagnosed with ADD in her late 20s, and it helped everything click into place. Jason was diagnosed as a child and put on several medications — a painful experience for him. Same diagnosis, very different memories.
Jessica asks how those histories show up in their parenting today. They talk about why Ryan’s homework turns into a marathon with Mom but not with Dad. They talk about whether to get a second opinion, and why Jason wants to be part of the process this time. And they share how they’re working toward a plan that’s about Ryan, not about them.
Plus: The simple listening exercise from Dr. Orna that the couple calls their North Star, and why they say it applies to their kids, too.
More from Everyone Gets a Juice Box: For Parents of Neurodivergent Kids
We’re dropping into your feed a week early to announce a new investigative podcast from Understood.org. It’s called Zero Reject: The Uncertain Future of Special Education. This is episode 1. If you like it, follow Zero Reject wherever you get your podcasts.
In 1975, a federal law promised every child with a disability a free appropriate public education. Fifty years later, that promise is on shaky ground. Jessica talks with education reporter Anya Kamenetz, host of Understood’s podcast series Zero Reject, about cuts at the Office for Civil Rights, the roughly 25,000 complaints left in limbo, and why meetings for Individualized Education Programs, or IEPs, feel like a battle. Plus: the parents who built special education, and what gives Anya hope.
Tehrima Rai spent years being told her son was “just picky.” Relatives blamed her parenting, and she struggled to get help. But Tehrima, a pediatrician herself, trusted her instincts and kept searching until she found the real answer: ARFID, an extreme fear of food that’s more common in neurodivergent kids. Through feeding therapy, logbooks, and her own experimentation, she helped her son eat — and finally healed deep wounds of her own. For more on this topic Listen: Why I stopped hiding my kid’s neurodivergence Watch: Guiding a neurodivergent kid through grief (by breaking all the rules)
Psychotherapist and ADHD expert Merriam Saunders spent years locked in daily battles with her strong-willed daughter. No form of discipline worked. Then one ordinary blowup led to an unexpected realization: The problem wasn’t defiance, it was an ADHD skills gap. And, crucially, she realized it wasn’t her daughter’s job to fix it.
Jessica is off this week, but we didn’t want to leave you without something great to listen to. So, in honor of back-to-school, we’re sharing an episode about school refusal from another Understood podcast, called In It.